


If the Sky Came Falling Down

by sheyrenawyrsabane



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: A dire coffee situation, Adventures In Space, M/M, Stargate Atlantis AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-23
Updated: 2017-07-29
Packaged: 2018-11-18 00:24:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 35,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11279889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sheyrenawyrsabane/pseuds/sheyrenawyrsabane
Summary: Five months into the Atlantis Expedition, Zhenya meets Sidney, Guardian of Halifax.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The title came from Hey Brother by Avicii.

_ It’s space _ , Sasha said,  _ It’ll be  _ fun _ ,  _ Sasha said.

Zhenya swats a particularly oversized bug and insect guts or maybe alien blood smears all over his arm.

“Fucking fuck,” he says.

“I hope that wasn’t an endangered species you just killed,” Hornqvist says cheerfully.

Zhenya flips him off.

_ Russians in space,  _ Zhenya’s mother said when Zhenya told her the cover story for the classified mission he’d been selected for.  _ Do our country and our family proud.  _

_ You’ll be like Gagarin _ , Dennis said,  _ Except worse at hockey. _

Zhenya smacked his brother for that comment. Zhenya is good at hockey, thank you very much. He’s just better at other things.

Right now, he wishes he’d stuck with hockey.

He and Sasha and the rest of Exploratory Team 1 trudge through the marshy wetlands of Shithole 15 searching for a food source or, just as important, an information source.

The Stargate Expedition was a secret, competitive program, and when Zhenya was recruited for his interest in xenobiology and xenobotany, it felt like all the years of school and meals of ramen with ketchup had paid off.

Until he walked through the Stargate and into Atlantis and watched in horror as the gate powered down with almost a quarter of their personnel still on Earth. At least the bulk of their supplies made it to Atlantis. None of them would’ve lasted even these past three weeks without coffee.

As things stand, Zhenya is on the lookout for places to grow coffee beans, because their supply is limited.

At least, when the gate closed, most of their command structure had made it through the gate. Their civilian leader, Jaromir Jagr, made it through before the gate shutdown. Their military leader, Bettman, didn’t, and there was some confusion until all the military units from different countries gathered and voted who their leader should be.

They chose a Canadian with a strong leadership background, Mario Lemieux. Zhenya doesn't know much about the man but Sasha said, “He’s Canadian so he has my vote. The Canadians didn’t try to shoot us down in Syria.”

Zhenya had cut a surprised look at his friend. “When were you in Syria?”

Sasha went tight-lipped and refused to say anything else. For such a blabbermouth, it had been uncharacteristic. And means he probably did things he wasn’t proud of while he was there. Zhenya has basic military training, every Russian recruited to the program does, but Sasha  _ is  _ military. When Zhenya’s mother heard Sasha was part of the classified mission Zhenya had been selected for, there was less worry in her eyes.

“He’ll take care of you,” she said before patting Zhenya’s cheek.

Sasha is one of the best snipers in the world. It isn’t something he brags about but sometimes, when he’s too deep into a bottle of vodka, he gets a faraway look in his eye, and Zhenya knows he’s thinking of what he’s done. On very rare occasions, when Sasha drinks too much, he’ll drape himself over Zhenya and murmur, “I’m sorry,” over and over. 

On those nights, Zhenya tucks Sasha into bed and stays with him so he won’t be alone.

There’s less kill counts in Zhenya’s profession, but on some days there’s as much bloodshed and as much danger. Feral animals aren’t always friendly. 

Sasha is the muscle on Exploratory Crew 1. Zhenya is the scientist. Patric Hornqvist is a Swede who’s as eager to jump into a fight as Sasha but when’s he’s not beating people with his fists he’s beating them with his tech. He’s saved their asses on more than one trip already, because he’s been able to hot wire the puddle jumper at a very convenient time.

Kris Letang, a Canadian, is their pilot and resident explosives expert, and he’s taught Zhenya to swear fluently in French. Rounding out their party is Phil Kessel, an American who patches them up after their run ins with hostile fauna. And sometimes flora as well.

“Hey Zhenya?” Sasha asks, holding up a blue leaf with neon yellow veins. “Can I eat this?” 

“Sure. I’ll tell you in a couple hours whether it’s poisonous or not.”

Kessel laughs which is why he’s Zhenya’s favorite teammate. He has a good sense of humor, necessary given the circumstances they’ve found themselves in. His sister, Amanda, was supposed to be a part of the expedition, but she was one of the people on the Earth side of the gate when they lost power. 

“At least she knows where I am,” Kessel said when it was brought up. “The rest of my family thinks I’m in Antarctica or something. Besides, she and Knighter will figure out how to get the gate up and running again.”

“Your sister’s smart?” Sasha asked.

“She’s the best Kessel.”

“Is she single?” Sasha asked.

Kessel rolled his eyes, but he didn’t puff up or threaten Sasha or start throwing punches. He just shrugged and said, “When the gate is up again, you can ask her.”

“She’ll kick your ass all the way back to Moscow,” Letang said with a laugh.

“Who else has a sister?”

“I have a brother,” Kessel says, “And he’s single.”

Sasha nudged Zhenya in the least subtle way possible.

“You?” Letang asked and he waggled his eyebrows as if to say  _ you enjoy fucking guys _ ?

Zhenya narrowed his eyes and the subject was dropped.

~*~*~*~*~

Four months after landing in Atlantis, they’re no closer to finding a way to contact Earth, and Zhenya still hasn’t found a suitable replacement for coffee. They have, however, made a few friends, and enemies.

The Wraith are terrifying, and the Genii are a pain in the ass, and Zhenya knows he isn’t the only one who wishes they had better firepower to use against the Wraith or options beyond diplomacy for the Genii.

At least Backstrom’s people haven’t tried to suck the life out of Zhenya’s body or pretended to be farmers so they could try and steal nuclear technology. Nicklas Backstrom has offered to be a guide of sorts to them in exchange for safety for his people. He knows most of the nearby planets, and he and his people know a lot about agriculture. 

In the version of events where they have a working stargate between Earth and Atlantis, Backstrom and his long list of plants would be the highlight of Zhenya’s year. As it stands, Zhenya doesn’t have the time to geek out over new staple crops and exotic crops.

He has to help in the continuing hunt for a power source. Mostly, he tries to keep Sasha from being eaten by wild animals. Sometimes, Zhenya can even bring them back to Atlantis to study. Backstrom claims Zhenya can’t domesticate most of the creatures he finds, but once upon a time people thought that about wolves. 

“Nicky and I are sparring today,” Sasha says, joining Zhenya for lunch.

“Use protection.”

Phil laughs into his pudding.

“Seriously, though,” Tanger says. “Those sticks  _ hurt _ . Wear pads or something.”

“Maybe I’m better at fighting than you,” Sasha says.

~*~*~*~*~

They all laugh at him the next morning when he shows up to breakfast covered in bruises.

~*~*~*~*~

They’re five months into their new life in the Pegasus Galaxy when Zhenya’s team is sent to an address because one of their control tech guys says he’s detected activity there and, according to Backstrom, it’s a deserted planet.

“Do we know what kind of activity?” Zhenya asks as he pulls out his handheld scanner. It doesn’t have the same range as the scanners on the puddle jumper, but it’s more accurate. Right now, it tells him there are six nearby lifeforms. The reading makes him frown. “I thought this planet was uninhabited?”

“Which is why we’re here,” Tanger says. “We’re figuring out why it isn’t.”

Hornqvist swears in Swedish.

Zhenya agrees with him. There’s no way this ends well.

Sasha unclips his gun, the sound loud in the hushed quiet of the planet. 

They’re in a dense forest, and it feels like a place Zhenya’s been hiking on Earth except there’s no wildlife. There are no squirrels fighting for nuts, no birds cawing, there aren’t even any bugs buzzing in his ears. It makes his ears strain for sound that isn’t there, and it leaves him on edge.

“Flower said there were ruins two miles to the west of us,” Tanger says. “Maybe we’ll find some useful technologies.”

“Ugh,” Phil says. “We’re going to find more dead bodies, aren’t we?”

“Hopefully skeletons not corpses this time,” Patric says. 

Backstrom has told them stories of the Wraith’s destruction, but Zhenya didn’t fully grasp it until they began finding the shells of civilizations ravaged by the Wraith. Honestly, Zhenya probably still doesn’t fully grasp how terrifying they are, and he hopes he never does.

The more people they meet, the more they learn about the Pegasus Galaxy, the more focused the expedition grows on finding a power source to defend Atlantis with. The Genii hide how advanced they are to keep from drawing the Wraith’s attention, but that isn’t an option for Atlantis. They made a big splash when they landed which means they have to be ready for the inevitable attack. 

Phil whistles and Hornqvist sings, a low sad tune as they trek west. They’re at the edge of the trees when Sasha stops abruptly and holds a hand up for silence.

Zhenya peers around Sasha’s shoulder and has to bite down on his tongue to keep from cursing when he sees the Wraith dart parked in what looks like a courtyard. 

Without having to speak, the five of them turn so they all face outward, and Zhenya’s scanner still shows six life forms but upon closer examination, one of the life forms appears to be running.

Right towards them.

“We’re about to have company,” Zhenya says. He points southwest. “An unknown and then five Wraith. Maybe. Hopefully not.”

Zhenya swaps his scanner for his gun. He pats his Kevlar vest, glad Hornqvist insists they wear them despite their complaints about how uncomfortable they are.

He hears heavy footsteps, more like a wild animal than human, but then a... _ something  _ rounds the corner of one of the crumbling buildings. 

“Holy shit, is that a Transformer?” Tanger asks.

The  _ thing  _ is humanoid shaped, maybe larger and is either a robot or Transformer or that’s a really hi-tech suit of armor.

The armor’s eyes snap up to where Zhenya’s team is standing still, unsure what to do and Zhenya sees something intelligent in that gaze before it returns its attention to where two Wraith appear.

“Only two?” Sasha whispers. 

Zhenya checks to make sure the safety on his gun is off.

There’s a click as  _ blades  _ protrude from the armor and its arms sweep out, slicing through the Wraith before they can react. The armor cuts and chops until the Wraith are in pieces on the ground.

“Shit,” Sasha murmurs.

Zhenya sees the glint of too sharp teeth and shouts, “Behind you!”

The armor turns in time to defend against the Wraith that tried to sneak up on it.

“Idiot,” Phil mutters as he shoots at the Wraith which is honed in on them now.

“Needed help,” Zhenya says.

Sasha fires two shots in quick succession and the Wraith charging them jerks back, momentarily stunned. Tanger shoots another three bullets into it. Hornqvist fills its chest with bullets while it can’t move and then Sasha finishes it off with three bullets to the brain.

“Heal from  _ that _ ,” Sasha says.

“Maybe Armor Boy can teach us a few tricks when this is over,” Tanger says.

Zhenya counts bodies - one down because of them, three down because of the armor which means -

Zhenya’s yanked off his feet and thrown through the air until his back collides with the trunk of a tree. It’s disorienting, and the breath’s knocked out of him and when his vision refocuses there’s a Wraith crouched over him.

“Ah!” Zhenya shouts. He tries to scramble back but there’s nowhere for him to go. He reaches for his weapon, but the Wraith knocks it away with a hissed laugh.

In a moment, Zhenya’s flipped around so he’s between the Wraith and his friends, a human shield. Phil’s gun wavers, but Sasha’s remained fixed on the Wraith.

“I haven’t had this much fun in a long time,” the Wraith says. It turns Zhenya’s head to look at the armor. “When was the last good hunt you gave me? When you were running with that  _ boy _ ? I had to let you go to track him down, but now I’ll have both of you.”

The armor  _ flinches _ .

The Wraith is distracted enough for Zhenya to signal to Sasha to shoot once he has a shot. Or even if he doesn’t. Zhenya would rather die from a bullet than a Wraith draining the life out of him.

Sasha fires and the Wraith jerks, hit though Zhenya can’t see where. He rips out of the Wraith’s grasp and curses as the Wraith’s nails slice into his skin. He rolls away from the Wraith as he hears more gunshots.

And then he sees the armor and it’s  _ fast _ . It slices and dices the Wraith and then, after a glance at Zhenya, it cuts it into even smaller species.

“I think it’s dead,” Zhenya rasps.

The armor lights the chunks of Wraith on fire and only then steps away from its kill.

Phil is at Zhenya’s side in an instant, peeling back his shirt to look at his wounds. “You need stitches. I’ll do them here and then we’ll head back to the jumper.”

“Not that bad,” Zhenya says. He wants to be back at their ship as soon as possible.

“If you pass out from blood loss then one of us will have to carry you and no one wants to do that. Lie back. You want something to bite?”

“Vodka?” Zhenya asks.

Phil laughs and opens his med kit.

The armor creeps closer, curious.

“Don’t you have more bodies to burn?” Sasha sneers.

“Be nice,” Zhenya chides.

“It’s not like it can even understand us.”

The armor gasps when Phil begins to sew Zhenya’s skin together. 

“Yes, your fault,” Sasha says.

“Let’s burn the rest of the bodies,” Hornqvist suggests. “This...guy seems to know what he’s doing.”

Zhenya grits his teeth against the pain of doing this without any kind of numbing agents. The armor presses closer and holds its hand out. It uncurls one of Zhenya’s fingers then the other until Zhenya’s hand isn’t clenched in a fist anymore.

When the armored hand is placed in his, Zhenya shakes his head. “It’ll hurt.”

The armor doesn’t budge and as Phil pushes the needle through Zhenya’s skin, he hisses in a breath and squeezes the armored hand as hard as he can.

When Phil’s done, Zhenya is breathing hard and there’s sweat along his hairline. The amor’s second hand hovers over the closed wound, and he says something that sounds oddly familiar to Zhenya.

“No fucking way,” Tanger says, scrambling over to join them. “Was that  _ French _ ? I think he just apologized. Aliens speak French? Flower’s gonna fucking lose his mind.”

Tanger says something back, and the armor cocks its head to the side before it taps Phil’s med kit and words tumble out of its mouth too quick for Zhenya to even pretend to follow.

“Bad French,” Tanger says. “I don’t understand most of it.”

It taps Phil’s med kit again.

“It’s hurt?” Zhenya asks.

Phil, the softie, immediately turns to the armor. He opens his bag up and asks, “How can I help?”

The armor ripples then fades, giving way to a humanoid figure with sweaty brown curls, a crooked jaw and pale skin which looks vulnerable without the armor protecting it. 

“Um,” Tanger says. “Where the fuck did the armor go?”

Zhenya stares at the man’s hazel eyes then grows distracted by his lips.

The man, unconcerned with the attention on him, pulls the scalpel out of Phil’s bag and holds it out, handle first.

Phil takes the instrument but looks to Tanger. “What does he want?”

The man turns so his back is to them and points to a place near his neck. 

“He wants me to cut into him?” Phil asks. “I don’t know anything about his anatomy. If we could get him to At--to our base then we could do a full scan so I don’t slice into him blindly.”

Tanger says something, and the man jerks back, waving his arms and raising his voice, and Zhenya doesn’t need to be a xenolinguist to know he doesn't like Tanger’s suggestion. The man points to the smoldering remains of the Wraith and yells some more and--

“Wait,” Zhenya says. “The Wraith taunted him. Said he’s been chasing him. What if--”

“A tracker,” Tanger finishes. It’s his turn to gesture as he asks the man a new questions. After a moment, Tanger turns back to the team. “That must be it. He’s saying stuff about ‘not safe’ and ‘hurry’. We can’t take him to base if he’s a Wraith homing beacon.”

“Then we leave him here,” Sasha says, returning with Hornqvist. “He was alone before, he can manage on his own again.”

Hornqvist nods. “He’s dangerous.”

“He needs my help,” Phil says, setting his shoulders, stubborn. “Tanger, I need to know as much as you can glean from him.”

Tanger throws his hands up in the air. “I’m an explosives expert not a translator.”

“Please?”

Tanger huffs but starts up another conversation with their de-armored friend. There’s a lot of pointing involved, but the man’s gaze is continuously drawn to Phil’s scalpel, an expression of such desperate hope in his eyes that Zhenya finds it hard to look at him.

Once they exhaust their ability to communicate, the man pulls his shirt off and then lies down on his stomach. His back is a mess of scars, but there’s no denying the muscle there, honed from who only knows how many years on the run.

Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Zhenya holds his hand out to the man.

The man smiles sadly and shakes his head before he picks a rock up off the ground. He squeezes it when Phil first cuts into him and grunts as the scalpel drags down, opening up his skin. Blood wells up, but not as much as ZHenya would expect.

“Huh,” Phil says.

“Huh?” Tanger echoes.

“There are wires in here,” Phil says.

“Part of the tracker?” Now Sasha peers at the man, curious, and no doubt cataloguing potential weaknesses.

“Part of him, I think.”

The rock shatters in the man’s hand as Phil digs into the incision to pull out what Zhenya hopes is the tracker and not like his heart or something.

“So he’s a robot?” Sasha asks.

“Don’t know,” Phil answers, clipped and terse, and they fall silent so he can work.

They only sounds are the man’s harsh breathing and the scrabble of his nails against the ground. THere are tears in his eyes, unshed, and there’s probably a scream in his throat, but he doesn’t let it escape. Zhenya can’t help but wonder how many times he’s suffered in silence, afraid too much noise would bring the Wraith down on him.

“Don’t,” Sasha says, sharp and in Russian. “If you’re soft then the world will destroy you.”

“He needs our help,” Zhenya says.

“Both of you shut up,” Phil says. “Or go somewhere else. Horny, come look at this. This is tech more than medicine right now, I think.”

“That’s more blood than I usually work with,” Hornqvist says but he crouches down next to Phil. “That bit right there looks like Wraith technology.”

“We need to get it out.”

Zhenya wants to watch, but Sasha grabs his arm and hauls him away so they can continue their conversation.  “He’s dangerous.”

“To the Wraith,” Zhenya says. “You’re the only always saying we need better weapons. He  _ is  _ a weapon.”

Sasha scowls but clicks his comm on. “This is Exploratory Team 1.”

“Hello Exploratory Team 1,” Flower’s cheerful voice says. “Everything alright there?”

“We have the situation under control,” Sasha says, “but I need to speak with Colonel Lemieux and Dr. Jagr.”

“I’ll get them for you,” Flower says.

A beat later, Lemieux’s voice comes through the comms. “Lemieux and Jagr here. Status update, Major.”

“We have encountered an unknown. Between us and the unknown, five Wraith are dead.”

“Five?” Lemieux asks.

Jagr whistles. “Does the unknown need a job?”

Zhenya gives Sasha a pointed look.

Sasha rolls his eyes. “Possibly. He appears to speak a variant of French so we have had limited communication with him. Currently, Dr. Kessel is performing emergency surgery to remove a Wraith tracking device.”

“Well, fuck,” Jagr says. 

“Major, in your professional opinion, is he a danger to us or our mission?” Lemieux asks.

Sasha pauses before he answers. “If we can successfully remove the tracker then I think he could be an asset. He is a skilled fighter and has technology beyond anything we’ve seen.”

“If the tracker can be removed, bring him back with you,” Lemieux says. “Don’t allow him to know our address, and bring him straight to the briefing room. We’ll keep his knowledge of Atlantis limited until we figure out his story.”

“What do you know about him?” Jagr asks.

“He can create a suit of protective armor around his body, he is a mixture of flesh and cybernetics, and he’s fast. He would’ve had a good chance at all five Wraith if we hadn’t been there.”

“He’s been running,” Zhenya says. “The Wraith have been chasing them. He’s learned to fight because he didn’t have any other choice.”

“Speculation,” Sasha scoffs. “We know very little about him. Hopefully Fleury will have better luck.”

“We don’t know if he’ll want to come with us,” Zhenya says. “If the operation is successful, this will be the first time he hasn’t had to run in--we don’t even know how long. Maybe there’s somewhere he wants to go. Someone he wants to see.”

“Convince him he wants to see us,” Lemieux says. “Gently, of course. It doesn’t sound like he’s a man we want as an enemy.”

Zhenya thinks about how easily the blades of his armor sliced through the Wraith. “Definitely not.” 

“We’ll talk more when we see you,” Lemieux says.

“Yes, sir,” Sasha tells him before he cuts their comms. “It’s decided then,” Sasha tells Zhenya. “We bring your new friend to Atlantis.”

“If we can remove the tracker,” Zhenya says.

He looks back to where they left Phil and Hornqvist and their new friend. Hornqvist holds something in his hands as Phil sews the man back together. 

“Success?” Sasha asks as they rejoin them.

Hornqvist holds out the small device in his hands. It blinks red at them. “He says it’s Wraith, and it looks that way to me.”

“How do we destroy it?” Sasha asks.

“Blow it up?” Tanger asks.

“Toss it through the Genii’s gate?” Hornqvist suggests.

The man’s hand snaps out, lightning quick, and grabs the tracker from Hornqvist.

“Hold still,” Phil scolds.

The man flicks a few buttons and the red light stops blinking. And then the man’s stomach opens up, and he places the device inside before his skin closes up again.

“Um,” Tanger says.

“Guess he doesn’t want us blowing it up,” Zhenya says. He hands the guy--robot?--his shirt. 

The man pulls it over his head as Phil moans about pulling stitches and undoing all his hard work. 

“We ready to go then?” Sasha asks. “Who knows how many Wraith are on their way here now.”

The man, clearly not understanding their conversation, wanders away from them, down towards the Wraith dart.

“Wrong direction!” Zhenya calls at him. 

Tanger calls something out in French, probably the same thing. The man holds up two fingers and then rummages through the Wraith dart, taking things out of it.

“Huh,” Hornqvists says. “Can he teach me that? We can’t dismantle one of these yet.”

“Are those fuel cells?” Phil asks.

“Now what’s he doing?” Sasha asks.

The man fiddles with a few things and then he picks up what he scavenged and  _ runs _ . Zhenya and his team aren’t stupid so they run too. They’re several meters back into the treeline when an explosion knocks them all to the ground.

“Forget about dismantling,” Tanger says. “I want him to teach me  _ that _ .”

~*~*~*~*~

It’s a long walk back to the gate, and Zhenya’s shoulder aches more and more with step he takes. He wants to complain, but the other guy is worse off, and not only has he not complained, but he’s carrying everything he scavenged from the dart. 

Zhenya points to himself. “Zhenya.”

The guy looks confused that he’s being spoken to and then he scrunches up his nose. “Zh-henya?”

Zhenya shakes his head. “Zhenya. Evgeni.”

“Yuh--”

Sasha groans.

“Geno,” Zhenya calls. “Maybe is easier?”

“He’s a fucking robot,” Sasha says. “How hard is a name?”

“What’s in a name?” Tanger asks.

It’s Phil’s turn to groan. “Fuck all of you.”

The man looks around the team. “Fuck?” he asks, lips curling around the word.

Tanger laughs. “I like him. Let’s keep him.”

Zhenya grins and holds his fist out. “Good to meet.” He points to himself again. “Geno.”

“Geno,” the man repeats. He points to himself. “Sidney.”

Zhenya’s face breaks out into a brilliant smile.

“I did  _ not  _ sign up for this,” Hornqvist says. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If someone dies or is an irredeemable asshole then they're an OC because while certain players might frustrate me when they're on the ice (or off it) I didn't want to Sirius Black them. 
> 
> Also, I will try to update as often as possible, but it depends on how productive I am on my morning commute :)))

Zhenya talks to Sidney while Horny dials Atlantis. From the slight smile on Sidney’s face, he knows what Zhenya’s doing, and he even turns his back so he can’t see where Horny dials.

 

And then he walks  _ away _ from the gate. Which, “What’re you doing?” Zhenya asks.

 

Sidney ignores him, walking until he reaches a small outcropping of rocks a handful of meters away from the gate. Sidney picks up a battered looking bag, opens it, inspects its contents and then adds what he’d taken from the Wraith.

 

“Oh,” Zhenya says. He tries not to stare at the exposed padding on the straps or the frayed patches barely holding the bag together.

 

“Are you coming or not?” Sasha demands.

 

The gate shimmers, the ripple of blue which means it’s active. Zhenya holds his hand out to Sidney, and the man’s lips quirk up again before he takes Zhenya’s hand so they can step through the gate.

 

The gateroom is odd, dividers thrown up to make it look smaller and to hide the most obvious signs of their advanced technology.

 

Flower bounds over to greet them. “Bonjour!” he exclaims.

 

Sidney lets go of Zhenya’s hand to take a step closer to Flower. He rattles off a stream of French, or his French-hybrid, as Flower holds up a translator and makes geek noises. Zhenya shouldn’t judge. He’s been known to coo at the animals he studies.

 

“Can you understand me?” Flower asks, speaking into his translator.

 

It conveys the message, or enough of it, for Sidney to eye the translator with interest. His fingers hover over the device as he asks something.

 

“May I?” the translator chirps.

 

Flower glances back at Lemieux, who nods, and Flower holds the device out. Sidney’s veins peel out of his skin, and Zhenya gasps before they fit themselves into the parts of the translator.

 

“Uh,” Tanger says.

 

Sasha unclips his gun from his belt but holds it at his side.

 

It’s a long few minutes as Sidney whirs and then his veins return to his skin. He turns to Zhenya, his eyes flashing gold as he runs through languages--German, Farsi, Portugese, Russian--until he says “Thank you,” in stilted but understandable English.

 

“Holy fucking shit,” Flower says. “You want to be best friends?”

 

Sidney turns back to Flower. “Thank you,” he says again. Then, to Lemieux, “I will not access any technology you do not gift me.” He looks around at the hastily erected barriers. “Every race protects themselves the best they can.”

 

“I appreciate your honesty,” Lemieux says. He steps forward and extends a hand. “I am Colonel Mario Lemieux.”

 

“Colonel?” Sid cocks his head to the side and the whirring begins again. “Ah. You are a Guardian of your people.”

 

“Of a sort, yes.”

 

Sidney looks at Jagr then back at Zhenya. “You are also a Guardian?”

 

It sounds like the word carries significance, and Zhenya isn’t deserving of the admiration Sidney fills the word with. “I’m not. I study animals and plants.”

 

Sidney squints. “Why?”

 

“Dr. Malkin can tell you more about his studies later,” Jagr says. “We have some questions for you right now. And refreshments. Are you hungry?”

 

Sidney’s eyes flash gold again. “Sustenance?”

 

Jagr smiles and ushers Sidney up the stairs. “I am Dr. Jaromir Jagr. I am the civilian leader of our base.”

 

“Base? Civilian?” Sidney looks perplexed. 

 

“We’re not all Guardians,” Jagr explains, “but Guardians and scientists work together where we’re from.”

 

Sidney nods now. “Yes, the Guardians protect the… scientists.” He looks from Zhenya to Sasha. “It is an honor to protect the information.”

 

“Something like that,” Sasha mutters.

 

Jagr leads their small group into the briefing room where Backstrom is waiting for them. Sidney pauses when he sees the man, eyes flitting over Backstrom’s traditional clothing.

 

Zhenya’s wondering if their people’s are sworn enemies or something when Sidney slings his bag over his shoulders so he can hold both his arms out to Backstrom.

 

“I am sorry for your loss” Sidney says.

 

Backstrom grasps Sidney’s forearms. “Thank you…”

 

“Sidney Crosby, Guardian of Halifax.”

 

Backstrom grows somber. “Then I am sorry for your loss as well, Sidney of Halifax.”

 

Zhenya and Sasha exchange looks. He figures it would make sense that there would be a condolences ritual given how often the Wraith attack, but Backstrom hadn’t told them about it. Because they haven’t been victims of the Wraith? Or because they’re still outsiders?

 

“You know of each other, then?” Jagr asks.

 

Sidney takes the chair next to Zhenya and sets the bag down on the floor at his feet. “I am aware of the Valboran people and their hardships.”

 

“And everyone has heard whispers of Halifax and its Guardians,” Backstrom says. “But what they guard remains a secret.”

 

“Knowledge,” Sidney says. “We gather information from every corner of the galaxy, and we record it in the Archive. The Guardians are tasked with protecting the Archive. Its existence is imperative to our continuous existence. We protect the Archive so that after each Wraith attack we can rebuild without having to start back at the beginning. We have adapted to the Wraith, and we continue to adapt in hopes of one day being able to launch a successful attack against them.”

 

“Did the Archive survive the attack on your homeworld?” Lemieux asks.

 

“Yes, I made sure of it. But I have lost track of it since and it was too dangerous to make inquiries while I was running.”

 

“You were a Runner?” Backstrom asks.

 

Zhenya’s neck is sore from turning to look at each man as he speaks. He takes a sandwich off the plate in front of him and offers it to Sidney. It makes the man smile, fleetingly, before sadness takes over his face again.

 

“I was,” Sidney answers. He accepts the sandwich from Zhenya. “The healer was able to remove the tracker. I owe him a debt.”

 

“You don’t,” Phil is quick to say. “I’m a doctor. Helping people is what I do.”

 

“Doctor?” Sidney repeats. He looks to Jagr. “Many of your people are healers?”

 

“Not quite,” Jagr answers. “Dr. Kessel is a medical doctor, so he heals. Myself and Dr. Malkin have doctorates. It’s a way to distinguish scholars.”

 

Sidney looks at Zhenya with awe. “You are a gatherer of knowledge?” He tips his head toward Sasha. “Is he your Guardian? Do you have an implant? May I share in your knowledge?”

 

Sidney looks  _ excited _ instead of exhausted or in pain, and Zhenya hates to be the one to disappoint him. “I don’t have an implant, but I have my thesis on a thumb drive, and I can answer any questions you have.”

 

“And this knowledge, is it a gift?”

 

Zhenya glances at Jagr.

 

“Could you elaborate, please?”

 

“When I recover the Archive, may I add what I learn while I’m here?”

 

“We’ll discuss it when you recover the Archive,” Jagr says. “There are some things we can’t chance being discovered by others. But I don’t see any reason Dr. Malkin cannot share his insights on the flora and fauna we’ve discovered. And perhaps you can, uh,  _ gift _ him knowledge in return.”

 

“I would be honored.”

 

“That’s because you haven’t listened to him prattle on about debrinsks,” Tanger says.

 

Sidney blinks. “A large feline with claws sharp enough to tear through the thick hide of a ronkulk. They are a fearsome creature.”

 

“Geno here took one as a pet,” Phil says.

 

Sidney’s mouth falls open and he whirs again, eyes snapping open and shut until he says, “Pet? You have domesticated the apex predator of Caillen?”

 

“Her fur is very soft,” Zhenya defends.

 

Sidney takes a bite of his sandwich.

 

“Does this mean that you have a stomach?” Phil asks.

 

“I do. Though this consumable is new to me. We put meat on our bread. What do you call this?”

 

“Peanut butter,” Zhenya says.

 

Sidney’s face lights up in a smile. “Peanut butter,” he murmurs. He takes another bite of his sandwich.

 

~*~

 

They’ve been in the briefing room for an hour when Sidney slips one hand under the table. Maybe to everyone else in the room it looks like he’s resting his hand on his thigh, but Zhenya sees him dip his hand into his bag. Zhenya tenses without meaning to, and Sasha’s hand dips down to his gun. 

 

But Sidney doesn’t take anything out of his bag. He leaves his hand there, and Zhenya hears a faint buzz and for a moment it looks like Sidney’s forearm is glowing, but then Zhenya forces himself to stop staring. Not only is it rude, but it might be interpreted as threatening.

 

“I’m sorry to bring this back to something that must be painful for you, but you mentioned that you were a runner,” Mario says. “We haven’t heard of them before.”

 

Backstrom makes a sound in the back of his throat.

 

“Is that a rude question?” Jagr asks. “If so, you don’t have to answer.”

 

Both Lemieux and Sasha look like they want answers regardless of whether it’s a polite question.

 

“Not rude,” Sidney says. “Personal.” He glances around the table. “You must be very new. And blessed.”

 

“They are,” Backstrom says.

 

“I told you Halifaxians preserve their history,” Sidney says. “We learn from the past to become stronger, faster, and we practice evacuations in case the Wraith attack. But drills cannot fully prepare for the reality. The Wraith came in large numbers, and they were quick. We threw up our shields and began the evacuation. It was… messy.” 

 

Sidney looks through Lemieux as if he’s staring into the past. “The priority was the Archive. But even after it had been evacuated, we had to make sure it wouldn’t be followed. The Guardians split into small units and used spacecraft and the gate to give the Wraith something to chase. We knew we couldn’t outrun them, but if they were hunting us then maybe the rest of our people would stay safe.”

 

Sidney falls quiet as his gaze refocuses, brought back to the present. “I told you we have adapted. The Wraith chased us for weeks, before they finally caught us. They--I thought I would be forced to watch my unit die at the hands of the Wraith. But the one who caught us had other plans. Apparently it’s  _ boring _ to massacre planets. It’s too  _ easy _ when most societies can’t develop because of constant feedings.” Sidney’s eyes flash gold.

 

“We were  _ fun _ , the Wraith said. And he didn’t want the fun to end. He gave me and Nathan and Wicks a small bag of supplies and injected us with a tracker. He killed Steph, drained her in front of us to give us motivation to put up a good chase. It was…” Sidney shakes his head. “I have been running for years. Sometimes I let the Wraith catch up to me, and I kill them. But I could never go to settled planets, could never search for my people without leading the Wraith right to them. But you have freed me.”

 

“And now you’ll find your people?” Jagr asks.

 

“I am a Guardian of Halifax,” Sidney answers. He looks to Backstrom. “You had heard of Halifax’s fall. Have you heard whispers of my people?”

 

Backstrom shakes his head. “I will make inquiries on your behalf.”

 

“My thanks. Your people, are they resettled?”

 

Backstrom glances at Jagr. “They are. Dr. Jagr and his people found a planet for us in exchange for agricultural assistance. And I have offered my personal assistance as a Cultural Ambassador.”

 

“We could find a place for you,” Jagr says.

 

“Thank you. I hope to return to Halifax once I have found my people, but in the meantime, I would appreciate a place to work from. I’m afraid I don’t have much to offer in return.”

 

“We are also gatherers of knowledge,” Jagr says. “Anything you can share with us would be payment enough.”

 

Lemieux and Sasha both look like they wish they’d been consulted before Jagr answered, but Sidney doesn’t notice. His attention is on Backstrom, who says “They’re different. Military service is optional rather than required.”

 

Sidney raises his eyebrows and looks at Zhenya when he says, “You  _ are _ new here.”

 

“We believe in freedom,” Phil says. “No one should be forced to kill.”

 

Sidney smiles politely.

 

“For security reasons, we’d like you to stay with a member of our expedition while you acclimatize to Atlantis,” Lemieux says, and it’s Jagr’s turn to frown. “You and Dr. Malkin appear to have a connection. How would you feel with him as your tour guide?”

 

Zhenya flushes when Mario says ‘connection’ but Sidney doesn’t seem to read into it. The Halifaxian smiles and says, “I would like that. Is it true that I’m in Atlantis?”

 

Dark looks are exchanged around the table.

 

“No one told me,” Sidney says, “but we’re curators of history, and this place is a legend. Are you Ancients, returned to your city to turn the tide of the war?”

 

“Not quite,” Lemieux says.

 

“Not at all,” Jagr corrects. 

 

Sidney’s shoulders slump.

 

“Dr. Kessel should take you for a physical,” Lemieux says, “and then Dr. Malkin will pick you up for dinner.”

 

“A physical?” Sidney asks. He pulls his hand out of his bag and Zhenya thinks he looks like he has more color than he did even fifteen minutes ago.

 

“I want to check on your stitches,” Phil says, “and see if you have any other injuries which require healing.”

 

Sidney places his bag on the table, and everyone’s gazes are drawn towards it. Sidney pulls it closer to him, skin shimmering as if he’s holding his armor back.

 

“May we see inside your bag?” Jagr asks. “As I’m sure you can understand, safety is of utmost importance here.”

 

“These are mine,” Sidney says. “I fought for them or made them.”

 

“If they don’t pose a danger to Atlantis then you can keep them.”

 

Sidney, looking unhappy, unpacks his bag. There’s a tin of rations, five full fuel cells, one empty one, and a small arsenal of weapons. 

 

“That’s new tech to me,” Sasha says.

 

Sidney’s fingers twitch like he wants to pull it all close to his chest.

 

“I think what Sasha is trying to say,” Zhenya says, “is that he would be honored if you gifted him with your knowledge of weaponry.”

 

“And you will use this knowledge to fight the Wraith?” Sidney asks.

 

“Yes,” Sasha answers.

 

“I will share what I am able,” Sidney tells him. “Some of these can be wielded by me alone, but I welcome any allies I can find in the war against the Wraith.”

 

“First, a check-up,” Phil says. “Maybe an anatomy lesson so if I have to operate on you again I’m not flying blind.”

 

“You can fly and heal at the same time?” Sidney asks.

 

Phil’s trying to explain figures of speech as they leave, Sidney’s belongings back in his bag.

 

As soon as the door shuts behind them, everyone’s attention swings to Zhenya and he feels as if he’s back in primary school and hauled in front of the principal. He has to fight the urge to fidget.

 

“We need you to keep an eye on him,” Jagr says. “He’s still an unknown.”

 

“You mean spy,” Zhenya says, stomach twisting unpleasantly. He understands the importance of keeping Atlantis safe, he knows how catastrophic it would be if the Wraith found their way to Earth, but Sidney hates the Wraith more than they do. He’s not a danger, he’s someone who needs help.

 

“Keep him away from computer terminals,” Lemieux says, breezing over Zhenya’s outburst. “He’s promised not to access material without permission, but we’ve learned that not everyone in the Pegasus Galaxy can be trusted.”

 

Like the Genii, but Sidney is different from them. He won’t try to wring secrets out of them in order to build a nuclear arsenal. He wants to find his people and, after running for so long, probably wants to sleep.

 

“His society appears to use knowledge as currency,” Sasha says. “We need to know what he knows, and your fields of study are safe to share with him.”

 

Zhenya can’t talk back to Lemieux or Jagr, but he can snap a “Fuck you” at Sasha for implying his work isn’t important because it’s not classified. He switches to Russian to add, “Just because you can’t weaponize my research--”

 

“Gentlemen,” Jagr interrupts smoothly. “Dr. Malkin, Sidney is now your responsibility. The next time Exploratory Crew 1 has an assignment, we’ll discuss whether he goes with you.”

 

“What?” Sasha demands.

 

“Major,” Lemieux reprimands.

 

Zhenya stands. “I should find Sidney.” He waits a beat for anyone to contradict him before he leaves the room. Instead of going to the infirmary straight away, he stops in his room to shower and change.

 

Pulling his shirt over his head makes him wince, and he stares at the stitches in his shoulder, surprised, because he’d forgotten about his own injury in all the excitement of Sidney.

 

He showers by wiping himself with a washcloth, because Phil will be pissed if he gets his stitches wet. It gets him clean, but he doesn’t feel like he’s showered, and he’s grumpy as he heads to the infirmary.

 

“Ah yes,” Phil says when he spots Zhenya. “My second patient. Sit up on a bed and take your shirt off.”

Zhenya’s in a short sleeve button-up, because it was agony pulling his t-shirt off. He should’ve just cut it, it’s unsalvageable anyway. He undoes the buttons as Phil bustles around, gathering the supplies he needs.

 

From a bed of his own, Sidney sits and watches, curious, as Zhenya reveals his chest.

 

“You look different?” Zhenya asks, because if this is about silence then maybe he won’t blush.

Sidney answers by pulling his own shirt off, revealing a broad, muscular chest. Color rises in ZHenya’s cheeks. So much for not blushing.

“On the inside we’re different,” SIdney says, “but on the outside we are similiar.” His eyes linger on Zhenya’s chest. “You are...skinny.”

“Am not!” Zhenya squawks.

“Wiry?” SIdney offers, a twinkle in his eye.

Zhenya’s reminded that SIdney has an entire thesaurus of words to choose from and the last thing he needs if Sindey calling him “lithe” in front of Phil. The guys would chirp him for months. “Fuck you.”

Sidney tilts his head to the side. “You wish to procreate?”

Phil snorts as he rummages through his esk.

Sidney’s eyes are fucking twinkling again.

“A jokester,” Zhenya says, aiming for grumpy but missing by a kilometer. 

“He’s also healthy,” Phil says as he rolls a cart over to Zhenya’s table. “But proper wound care on the stitches so they don’t become infected. Same for you, but you’ll have PT as well.

Zhenya groans.

“Then don’t get fucking sliced up,” Phil says with no sympathy for Zhenya’s plight. “And if you think I won’t give SIdney here exact instructions on what you’re supposed to do then you have another thing coming.”

Zhenya groans again.

“He’s lazy,” Phil tells Sidney as he inspects Zhenya’s wound. “Stubborn, too.”

“Selfless,” Sidney adds, shoulders drawing up as if he needs to defend Zhenya from one of his friends. “He warned me of the Wraith even though it drew their attention to you.”

Zhenya shrugs but the praise sticks him him. “Was right thing to do.”

Sidney doesn’t look away from Zhenya as he says, “Not everyone in the Pegasus Galaxy would choose to do the right thing. And you have asked for very little in return.”

Phil dabs at Zhenya’s sound even as he hunches his shoulders, trying to act like he isn’t here. 

“Humans went to space looking for friends,” Zhenya finally says. “We want to learn. We don’t want to fight Wraith or defend against the Genii. We want peace.”

Sidney smiles but the corners of it are sad. “Your galaxy sounds like a wonderful place.”

“I’m not sure I would go that far,” Zhenya says. “Our planet - we’re not unified. There’s a lot of fighting.”

“Your people turn on each other?”

“Too often.”

SIdney’s quiet, mulling this over. “I would like to learn from you and to teach you in return.”

It sounds...not sexual but like a proposition nonetheless and Phil agrees if the way he raises his eyebrows at Zhenya is any indication.

“I would like that too,” Zhenya says.

~*~*~*~*~

Phil gives them each a mint on their way out.

“A real doctor would have lollipops,” Zhenya says.

Phil just cheerfully flips him off.

~*~*~*~*~

Zhenya brings Sidney to his quarters and then flounders, wondering what he’s supposed to say. These quarters are his, where he grabs sleep between missions and briefings and training, but it isn’t  _ his _ . He looks around at the bare walls and the monotone coloring and hunches his shoulders.

“These are my rooms,” Zhenya finally sayas. “There is a common room, a small bunk room, and a private bathroom. Do you sleep? Or bathe?” If Sidney is part machine then maybe water isn’t good for him. Does he take oil baths?

Suddenly the image of Sidney covering himself in oil appears in Zhenya’s head and he groans.

“Sleep?” Sidney asks. He whirs, brain or processor or something working hard. “Ah, your recharge period. I don’t require one. But I do bathe. As long as I don’t have any exposed wiring, of course.”

“Of course,” Zhenya echoes. He shows SIdney the bathroom and how to use the shower and the trick for getting hot water. He shows Sidney his bunk room next, a small room with a single bed tucked against the wall.

“This is where I sleep,” Zhenya says. “If you don’t sleep then I guess I should find someone to, uh, hang out with you during the night shift.” Honestly, Zhenya doesn't like the idea of someone else showing Sidney around. What if they aren’t nice to him? What if they don’t try to understand his quirks and differences?

Sidney doesn’t look too thrilled about it either. “I can stay here and Guard your recharging. Or just sit. I give you my promise I won’t take advantage of you while you sleep.”

“ _ What? _ ”

Sidney points to the computer in Zhenya’s common room. “I won’t access your computer while you sleep.”

“Ah,” Zhenya says, “Thank you. If you think you won’t grow bored then you’re welcome to stay, but I sleep for eight hours. Do you have hours?” 

“I understand your passage of time. I have many things in my memory to keep myself busy, and I admit that I’m looking forward to resting. It’s been a long time since I was able to settle in one place.”

“I hope we can help you.”

SIdney smiles and touches two fingers to Zhenya’s arm. “You already have.”

If they were in one of the movies Zhenya loves then this would be where Zhenya leans in for a kiss. He takes a step back instead to remove himself from temptation.

“Are you hungry?” Zhenya asks. “I can show you the mess hall. It’s dinner time.”

“Your people consume often,” Sidney says which isn’t an answer but he follows Zhenya towards the door.

“Eat,” Zhenya corrects. “And I guess fairly often. How often do you consume?”

“It’s my turn to learn.”

Zhenya accepts the deflection and shows off his affinity with Atlantis by opening the doors to his quarters before they reach them.

“You are connected to your city?” Sidney’s eyes roam over Zhenya’s body. “You have hidden ports?”

“Uh, no,” ZHenya says. “It’s genetic. We’re still figuring it out, actually. Our species are descendants of the Ancients or they intermarried with us years ago because some of us share enough genetic material with them to operate their technology. I can open doors and pilot ships, but no one likes the way I fly so mostly I don’t.”

“You need practice?” Sidney asks.

“They think I drive too fast. Too  _ recklessly _ . Sound like my Papa when I first learn to drive. My Mama was never scared to be in the car with me.”

“Papa?” Sidney asks. “Mama? This is your family?”

Zhenya shoves his hands in his pockets as they walk down the hallway towards the lift. “Yeah. But I should tell you more about the mess hall before we get there.”

It’s not even a subtle change of topic, but Sidney nods and rolls with it, asking about consumables, “Food, Sidney” and the different categories.

He’s baffled by dessert.

“You have an entire set of food with no nutritional value? What is its use?”

“Happiness,” Zhenya says sagely.

Sidney’s joy over Jello is worth Zhenya giving up his dessert portion for this meal.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uploading this chapter before free agency and signings joss all my characters :)) Hope everyone's had a good Canada Day/Free Agency Day/almost-Independence Day!

Even though Sidney said it was fine, Zhenya still feels weird getting ready for bed while Sidney sits on the couch, hands clasped in his lap.

“Do you want a book?” Zhenya offers, toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. “Or do you only--?” Zhenya mimes plugging something in. 

“Show me?” Sidney asks.

Zhenya holds up a finger before he spits into his sink and rinses his mouth out. On his way back, he grabs a book off his shelf. “This is  _ Anna Karenina _ . By Tolstoy. Very good Russian writer.”

Sidney’s eyes are wide as Zhenya holds the book out, and he actually shies away from it. “That is a bound volume. You can’t-- _ I _ can’t--”

Oh. Zhenya hadn’t thought much about resources or technology, but most civilizations they’ve encountered don’t have written books or, if they do, they’re only their most sacred texts. And for a cyber-race who can download information into themselves, they probably don’t use a lot of paper books.

“It’s okay,” Zhenya promises. He flips open to the page he spilled coffee on. “See? Little mess okay.” He closes the book to show off the spine, broken and worn. “Book is well-loved. As long as you don’t tear out pages, it’s okay. Promise.”

Sidney nods and accepts the book with gentle hands. “Thank you. I’ll be careful with it.”

“I trust you,” Zhenya says.

Sidney looks even more alarmed so Zhenya decides it’s time for a cowardly retreat. 

“It’s time for me to sleep, but if you need anything, you can knock on my door.”

“I have your book,” Sidney says. “I’ll be fine.”

Zhenya feels like there’s more he should do to be a good host, but he’s tired and his shoulder hurts, and tomorrow will be a long day. 

“Wait,” Sidney says as Zhenya turns towards his room. “Your computer.”

ZHenya rubs the back of his neck. “What about it?”

“Should you secure it? Your supervisors are concerned about what I can learn of you.”

“They--” Zhenya’s too tired to think of a diplomatic way to say they don’t trust anyone, especially after meeting the Genii.

“I understand,” Sidney says. “Lock your computer and sleep. I’ll see you when your recharge is complete.”

“Does this even matter?” Zhenya asks as he locks his computer.

Sidney doesn’t answer which Zhenya interrupts as a no.

~*~*~*~*~

Between the throbbing in his shoulder and the knowledge that someone else is in his room, it takes Zhenya a long time to fall asleep and the sleep he does get isn’t particularly restful. 

He brushes his teeth and showers to give himself a few extra minutes to wake up, because there’s no need for Sidney to bear the brunt of his grumpiness.

When he emerges from the shower, towel slung around his hips, Sidney looks up from his quiet contemplation of the floor. He stares and whirs as his cheeks turn pink.

“Do you want a shower before breakfast?”

“Uh,” Sidney says.

“Oh, clothes. You can borrow mind until we find some for you. Pants will be a little long.”

Sidney shrugs and accepts the towel and folded stack of clothes Zhenya hands over.

The pants  _ are  _ long, but they’re also tight, straining against the curve of Sidney’s ass. The shirt is just as tight, because he’s broader than Zhenya is. It’s...a lot and Zhenya makes a note to find Sidney clothes in his own size by the end of the day. His sanity depends on it.

Zhenya’s shoes don’t fit Sidney, but he seems unbothered by walking in socks so they leave for the mess hall, both showered and, Zhenya at least, hungry.

“Will there be Jello again?” Sidney asks.

“Not for breakfast, but there’s something even better.”

“Better than Jello?” Sidney looks skeptical.

“Coffee.”

Sidney still doesn’t look convinced so when they go through the caf line, Zhenya makes sure to get him a cup of coffee.

“Quite possibly the most valuable resource we have here,” Tanger says, popping up next to Sidney. “Everyone’s hoping you know of a secret coffee planet. I’m Kris, by the way. Or Letang. Are you sitting with us?”

Sidney stops frowning at his coffee to glance at Zhenya.

“How embarrassing will you be?” Zhenya asks.

“Us?” Tanger smirks. “Not a bit. Do they have bacon on your planet, Sid? You want to load up on that.”

So far, Sidney doesn’t appear as enthused about breakfast as he had about dessert last night or even his PB&J during the briefing, but he takes one of everything to try and follows Tanger and Zhenya to where Horny and Phil are already sitting. 

“Morning,” Horny greets.

Phil grunts before downing half his coffee in one go.

“Humans don’t always wake up the same way, “Zhenya explains. “Some need a jolt to wake them up,” he nods towards Phil. “Others,” he glances at Horny, “Are  _ morning  _ people.”

“Did you tell him the other, uh, way humans wake up?” Tanger asks. He waggles his eyebrows. “The morning  _ condition  _ if you will.”

“Fuck off,” Zhenya says, cheeks pink. Thankfully, his shower took care of  _ that  _ problem before Sidney could ask any questions. 

Sasha drops into an empty chair with a piece of toast slathered in jam and an obnoxious smile. “Good morning, sunshine. How was your sleepover?”

“I learned about the sad girl,” Sidney says.

Sasha lifts his eyebrows.

“Anna and her love. It was a tragic tale.”

“You gave him  _ Tolstoy _ ?” Sasha demands. He narrows his eyes at Sidney. “Did you like it?”

“It was sad,” Sidney repeats. “Why read about sad things when life is sad?”

“No taste,” Sasha tsks. 

“Books are boring,” Tanger says. He points to Sidney’s coffee. “Are you drinking that?”

Sidney’s eaten everything on his plate, not showing feelings any particular way about it, but he’s remained wary of the coffee. He cups it between his hands and takes a sip, wrinkling his nose at the taste. He braces himself before taking a large swallow.

“Sugar makes it better,” Horny says as Sidney sets the mug down. 

“And you seem to have a sweet tooth,” Zhenya says. He wishes they had access to Earth, because he wants to feed Sidney all his Russian favorites and how him there are much better things than Jello in the universe. “Maybe tomorrow we’ll try tea with jam.”

“Maybe,” Sidney says.

His lips twitch up then down, and he looks alarmed before his eyes flutter open and shut. He begins to whir, louder than Zhenya’s heard before, and his entire body trembles, hard enough to shake the table. Bits of armor flash on and off, and Zhenya doesn’t know what to do. No one else at their table does either; though, Zhenya’s pretty sure Sasha just clicked the safety off his gun.

They’ve attracted a fair amount of attention by the time Sidney returns to normal.

“Huh,” Sidney says. He flexes his fingers as if making sure they still respond to him. “No coffee for me, I think.”

“Holy shit!” Tanger says. “What was that?”

“Clearly an adverse reaction to his coffee,” Phil says.

Sidney looks from his coffee to Zhenya. “You’re given this every day?”

Zhenya nods.

“And it has value within your base?”

Zhenya laughs as he figures out where Sidney’s going with this. “It does.”

“You’re bartering with your coffee?” Tanger asks.

“I have two things to offer, coffee and my ability to kill people,” Sidney answers.

“Well, when you put it  _ that  _ way.” Tanger eyes Sid’s mostly full mug. “What do you want for it?”

“Jello.”

“Dibs,” Phil says, holding his hand out.

“How are you so fucking  _ fast _ ?” Tanger grumbles as Sidney pushes his coffee into Phil’s waiting hand.

Zhenya watches the exchange, amused, as he finishes his own coffee. Honestly, he prefers tea, but they have even less of that here. He’s already made note that for the next space exploration, coffee plants and tea plants should be added to the botany starter kit.

They have potatoes, rice, and corn planted along with a few kinds of fruits and vegetables, but no one thought about coffee. And they all blame Zhenya for not being able to will a supply into existence.

He doesn’t want to know what will happen if they actually run out of coffee.

~*~*~*~*~

At dinner, Sidney happily eats his two Jellos and gives Zhenya his meatloaf without asking for anything in return.

~*~*~*~*~

The second full day Sidney’s with them, Zhenya brings him along to training.

“You don’t have to do any of this,” Zhenya says for what must be the fourth time since they woke up this morning.

“I should keep in practice,” Sidney says. “And I’m sure Major Ovechkin wants to analyze my fighting style.”

Zhenya shifts, uncomfortable.

“I don’t blame him,” Sidney says. “I would do the same in our positions were reversed. He wants to know if I’m a danger to your people, and if I can be an asset in your war against the Wraith.”

“You don’t have to,” Zhenya says,  _ again _ .

“I need to get off planet to make my inquiries. The best opportunity for that is to be part of your missions. Which means I have to integrate into your team. Where would I find a weapon?”

“We aren’t up to energy blasts yet or whatever you use. We didn’t need it for what we fight, but it looks like now we’ll need something with more kick.”

“I only have one,” Sidney says. “Your studies would have to be confined to a visual study. I don’t want it dismantled.”

“We can work with that,” Horny promises.

“Guns,” Tanger scoffs, joining them.

“Sometimes you need the precision of a bullet,” Horny says. “Your way is messy.”

Tanger beams like this was a compliment.

“Enough chit chatting,” Sasha says. “We begin with conditioning.”

~*~*~*~*~

By the end of their four hour session, even Sasha has to grudgingly admit that Sidney worked well with them. He’s strong, has good endurance, and even better instincts. 

“So we’re leaving tomorrow?” Sidney asks after they’ve showered.

They’re headed to the mess hall as a group, because the team sticks together even when they’re on base. 

“Doubtful,” Sasha answers. “Zhenya here still needs to heal up.”

Zhenya, who’d been kept out of most the exercises, scowls and resists the urge to rub his shoulder.

Sidney looks disappointed but nods.

Once they have their lunch trays, they join Phil at the table he’s already staked out.

“What’s the excuse this time?” Tanger asks.

“I had a shift in the infirmary,” Phil answers. “I ran this morning.”

Horny laughs and swipes a fry off Phil’s plate. “I did more than run.”

Zhenya settles into the easy banter of his team, lets it wash over him while he eats. Beside him, Sidney eats as well but at a more sedate pace than their last few meals.

“Tired of the caf already?” Tanger asks, picking up on Sidney’s behavior as well. 

“Certain foods have a better energy gain, but they don’t taste as good.”

Phil laughs. “Welcome to life, kid.”

Sidney wrinkles his nose. “I’m not a kid. I’m--”

“--a Guardian of Halifax,” Tanger says. “Yeah, we know.”

Sidney presses his lips together and pushes his tray at Hornqvist before he storms off.

“Good going,” Zhenya tells Tanger. He grabs the rest of his sandwich and hurries after their guest.

Sidney doesn't slow down until he’s outside Atlantis with the sun shining down on his face. There isn’t much further for him to go, what with the water everywhere, but Zhenya nudges him towards the edge of the city.

“Want to sit?”

Sidney looks surprised that Zhenya followed him, but the surprise is quickly replaced by guilt, and he ducks his head, making himself smaller.

“I’ve interrupted your meal.”

Zhenya shrugs and sits down on the edge so his feet dangle towards the water. “I can eat here. Good view. Better company.”

Sidney rolls his eyes but he sits down next to Zhenya.

~*~*~*~*~

A shame-faced Tanger gives Sidney his Jello at dinner. “Sorry for being an insensitive dick.”

“My people are missing, possibly dead,” Sidney says, “and I’m eating  _ Jello _ . Perhaps I’m not a Guardian.”

“You’ve been running,” Zhenya says.

“I was running. Now I’m idle.”

“We’ll fix that, then,” Sasha says. “We’ll go on a simple mission. One even Mr. Stitches can handle.”

“Hey!” Zhenya objects.

“Only if he wears a sling,” Phil says. “And  _ no _ animal taming. Not even petting.”

Zhenya sulks for the rest of dinner.

~*~*~*~*~

They don’t usually go on back-to-back missions, but it’s obvious Sidney can’t stay cooped up in Atlantis so they pick a simple trading assignment. Thanks to Backstrom, they have a relationship with the Washtonians, and they meet their contact, Burakovsky, at his table in the open bazaar. 

He sells meat--both fresh and dried--milk, cheese, tanned hide and a number of other things made from the cow-like creatures he tends to along with his mentor, Kuznestov. 

Sidney seems spooked by the sheer number of people in the market, and he sticks close to Zhenya, his hands tucked firmly into his pockets so he can avoid as much contact with other people as possible. It occurs to Zhenya that for someone who has been on the run, afraid of drawing the Wraith to any kind of settlement, this must be an overwhelming number of people.

“We can go home,” Zhenya whispers. “My arm could hurt.”

Honestly, his arm  _ does _ ache a bit, and the sling is stupid, but he didn’t want to be left behind, and he didn’t want Sasha laughing at him. But if Sidney needs a reason to leave then Zhenya will put up the chirping and be that reason.

“It’s fine,” Sidney says, jaw set, stubborn. “What’re we trading for?”

“Livestock. We didn’t bring many through and those we did aren’t adapting well.”

“Animals?”

“You don’t eat much meat?” Zhenya guesses.

“Our consumables are different than yours.”

“Are you getting everything you need?” If Zhenya’s Mama finds out he didn’t properly look after a guest then she’ll skin him the next time he steps on Earth.

“You don’t need to worry about me.”

Zhenya’s already worrying, and he doesn’t think he’ll stop any time soon.

“Tomorrow?” Tanger asks, reminding Zhenya that he and Sidney aren’t the only two people here.

Burakovsky shrugs. “Tom is sick so I have to cover his whole shift, and it’s bad manners to trade after dark. You’re welcome at our table for dinner, though.” He glances at Backstrom, hopeful. “Do you have more stories? Is Ovie here with you?”

“Who’s Ovie?” Sidney asks.

“Sasha,” Zhenya answers. “Uh, Ovechkin. He and Backstrom sort of adopted Burakovsky. It’s a long story.”

“We didn’t adopt him,” Backstrom says.

“We could’ve traded with anyone here,” Tanger says, picking up the tale. “But Burakovsky made sad eyes, and Ovie’s heart melted.”

“Fuck all of you,” Sasha says.

“Sounds exhausting,” Horny says.

“I have other plans for tonight,” Phil says.

“Me too,” Sidney says.

“You do?” Zhenya asks.

“I’ll meet you at the gate tomorrow. What time?”

“Slow your roll,” Tanger says. “You’re ditching us?”

“You can’t,” Sasha says. “You stay with us.”

Zhenya bites back his groan as Sidney, predictably, squares his shoulders, determined to fight, and win, this battle.

“On Atlantis, I have to stay with you, but there are no secrets of yours for me to stumble across here.” Sidney hefts his bag over his shoulder, and Zhenya’s not sure if it’s intention or not, but it’s a reminder that everything Sidney owns is with him right now. He doesn't have to come back to Atlantis if he doesn’t want to.

“We check your bag before you go through the gate, and if you’re not there when we are then we’ll leave without you.”

Zhenya’s pretty sure Sasha doesn’t have the authority to make that decision, but before he can protest or say something to Sidney, the Halifaxan is gone, disappeared into the crowd.

“You’re an asshole,” Zhenya tells his countryman.

Sasha shrugs. “Let’s find a food tent. I’m hungry.”

~*~*~*~*~

They eat and then wander through the bazaar, picking up supplies and chatting with the locals. Zhenya keeps his eyes peeled for signs of Sidney, but he doesn’t see him. He knows the man is more than capable of looking after himself, and he knows he can’t help everyone in the galaxy, they can barely help themselves, but Sidney’s a man missing his family, and Zhenya can relate to that.

At least Zhenya knows his family is safe even if he can’t reach them. Sidney doesn’t have the same reassurances. Zhenya hopes he finds some answers here.

~*~*~*~*~

Dinner with Burakovsky and Kuznetsov is good. Tom’s “sickness” appears to be gone, because he’s at his friend Mike’s house, no doubt causing trouble for Mike’s guardians. Kuznetsov is always generous with his food and even more generous with his drink, and everything is relaxed and full as they linger for another cup of homebrew.

“I followed your friend,” Burakovsky says to Zhenya but he glances at Sasha like he’s hoping for approval. “He played bat ball with all the kids in the field so their minders could have a break.”

“Sidney snuck away to play with kids?” Tanger asks. 

“You had him  _ tailed _ ?” Zhenya demands.

Burakovsky shrinks in his seat like they’ll forget he’s here.

Sasha’s unfazed by Zhenya’s righteous rage. “He was being secretive.”

“He has a right to his secrets!” Zhenya pushes the rest of his drink towards Phil. “I’m going for a walk.”

Phil pushes the drink towards Tanger. “I’ll walk with you. It’s a nice night.”

“And he’s been skipping on his runs,” Horny adds.

“Gotta get that cardio in.”

Zhenya storms out of the house and then, guilty, waits for Phil to catch up.

“I’m not that slow,” Phil says, “but I appreciate the courtesy.”

“I don’t need a babysitter.”

“I was thinking a friend.”

“Don’t need that either.”

“Uh huh.” Phil falls into step with Zhenya. “because you’re adopting cybernetic strays?”

“He’s someone who needs our help, and we’re treating him like shit. Is this what we want our reputation to be in the Pegasus Galaxy?”

“Space is dangerous.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be. It was supposed to be fun and interesting and instead--”

Instead there are threats everywhere, and they aren’t sure when they'll be able to talk to their families again.

“At least I have the team,” Zhenya says. “Sidney has no one. I want him to know he isn’t alone.”

“So do that. You can be his friend. So can I. Ovie can’t and we don’t want him to be. Ovie does his job so we can explore different planets and meet new people.”

Zhenya hates it when other people sound so  _ rational  _ when he wants to be angry.

“Come on,” Phil says, “Let’s find our beds so we can fall asleep before Horny. I still haven’t learned to sleep through his snoring.”

Zhenya lingers a moment longer. “What if Sidney doesn’t meet us at the gate?”

“Then he doesn’t need us. That’s not a bad thing, you know.”

Zhenya nods and follows Phil inside.

~*~*~*~*~

Sidney’s waiting for them at the Gate, bag on the ground at his feet and open for Sasha to poke through. Relief washes over Zhenya when he sees Sidney, in clothes native to this planet now instead of what he wore here. Zhenya would hug him, but he’s not sure it would be welcome.

“You’re late,” Sidney says.

Sasha flips him off.

Sidney’s grin, sharp at the edges, smooths into something friendlier when he directs it to Zhenya. And then he looks beyond Zhenya to where Burakovsky leads a small herd of cow-like creatures to the Gate.

“I see you were successful,” Sidney says. 

“So were you.” Sasha holds up a fuel cell. “You have a lot of these.”

“Is that a problem?”

“Did you buy them with your babysitting money?”

Sidney’s expression shutters but he doesn’t back down. “Am I allowed to have them or no?”

“What’re you using them for?”

“Energy. I don’t like sleeping in the dark.”

One of the cows moos and stamps her hooves, uncomfortable with the rising tension.  _ Same _ , Zhenya thinks as he strokes her flank to calm her. The last thing they need is to set off a stampede, because Sasha and Sidney can’t play nice.

“Enough,” Zhenya tells his human companions. “You’re upsetting the cows.”

Sasha rolls his eyes.

“It’s true” Burakovsky says. “Because they spend so much time up in the plateaus with their minders, they begin to pick up on expressions and feelings. This herd comes from Price, and his animals are especially sensitive.”

“Let’s bring them to their new home then,” Tanger says.

“It was an honor to trade with you,” Sasha tells Burakovsky. 

“Thank you for inviting us to your table,” Horny adds. “One day, you should sit at ours.”

Burkovsky nods and solemnly imparts his own farewell, but there’s excitement shining in his eyes.  _ He’s a good kid _ , Zhenya thinks. He slips him a chocolate bar before they gate to their farming planet.

~*~*~*~*~

Back on Atlantis, Zhenya decides a quiet afternoon in his quarters is best for everyone involved. Sidney gently places his bag in the corner of the room and then sits on the couch.

“We should do your exercises,” Sidney says. “You’ve been neglecting them.”

Zhenya sighs but he takes the stupid sling off and sits next to SIdney on the couch. “What do you need with all the fuel cells?”

Sidney’s fingers dig into the sore muscles around Zhenya’s wound and he grunts. When he drops the subject, Sidney’s touch grows gentler, massaging the worst of the pain and stiffness away.

“You like kids?” Zhenya asks even as he braces himself for another rough touch. 

Instead, Sidney pulls pulls back and plucks a small weight off the table. “Dr. Kessel says you know what to do. Do your hurt yourself often?”

“Often enough.”

“You should armor yourself better.”

“More protection means less mobility. My most important parts are covered.”

Zhenya has to grit his teeth as he reaches rep six of lifting the weight. This is what he hates about PT, how weak it makes him feel. He’s sweating because of a tiny weight. It’s embarrassing.

“I like kids,” Sidney says and Zhenya doesn’t look over, afraid of spooking him. “I’ve had to keep my distance from them because I was running. And I have a sister. Her name is Taylor. She’s--she’s special.”

“Special?”

Sidney nods but he doesn’t elaborate.

“I have a brother,” Zhenya says. “He’s a pain in the ass but I love him.”

“You miss him,” SIdney says. He takes the weight from Zhenya. “Rest for sixty seconds then do it again.”

“I didn’t say goodbye. Not a real goodbye. I thought we’d have regular contact with home so I didn’t tell him all the things I should have. My people...we aren’t always open with how we feel. I was tough and now I don’t know if I’ll see him again.”

“What will you do when you see him?”

“Hug him.”

Sidney hands Zhenya the weight again.

“What about you? What will you do when you see your sister?”

“Tell her I’m sorry.” SIdney leans back against the couch. “She’s younger than me. A lot younger. She was a gift to my parents. To  _ me _ .”

Zhenya doesn’t understand, it’s like there’s a layer of meaning he doesn't have enough context for, but Sidney doesn’t elaborate so Zhenya doesn't push.

“We’ll find them,” Zhenya says. “You’ll have your family back.”

“The Archive is my priority,” Sidney says, but he doesn’t believe what he’s saying.

Zhenya doesn't believe him either.

~*~*~*~*~

Zhenya spends all day in briefings which means he’s grumpy and doesn’t feel like being around anyone or doing anything when he’s finally free. Of course, he isn’t given that option, because he has to pick Sidney up from the infirmary where Phil has been keeping him entertained while Zhenya read crop reports and argued with Sasha over what constitutes excessive security measures.

“I learned how to stitch up a wound,” Sidney says, excitement lighting up his face. “Phil says I have the steadiest hands he’s ever seen.”

Sidney glances back at Phil, expectant.

“He’s a quick study,” Phil says as Sidney beams, proud. “It’ll be good to have another person with basic training on the away team.”

“Basic?” Sidney narrows his eyes. “If I’m such a good study then why not teach me more advanced skills?”

“Patience,” Phil says. “I went to school for  _ years _ to learn all of this.”

“I want to know it all,” Sidney says.

“Honestly, I’m surprised you don’t know more. Is there a finite amount of space in that brain of yours?”

“Healing is not my primary function,” Sidney answers. “I know enough to patch myself up and I can… repair the Archive, but I was trained to fight and to defend. If I do those two things well enough then I have no need of healing.”

Phil looks like he has more questions, but then he spots Zhenya, arms crossed over his chest and storm clouds in his eyes, and he says, “Playdate is over. Maybe you can visit again tomorrow.”

“We have training. Ovechkin wants to test my hand-to-hand skill. And Tanger wants to learn how to wire a Wraith dart to explode.”

“Tomorrow afternoon, then. Bring Geno, and we’ll look over some local plants and see if any of them have medicinal properties.”

Sidney holds his fist out, and his smile grows when Phil bumps it with his own. “I’m learning human customs,” Sidney says as he follows Zhenya out of the infirmary. “You have many of them. You speak with gestures nearly as much as you do with words.”

“Huh,” Zhenya says and Sidney deflates.

“I’m bothering you.”

Zhenya doesn’t want guilt on top of everything else he’s feeling today so he sighs and says. “I’m sorry. Long day. I’m tired. I’m glad you’re learning.”

“Do you need to recharge?”

“A nap would be nice but then I wouldn’t sleep tonight. Maybe we can watch a movie. Sit on the couch, relax.”

They weren’t permitted many personal items for space issues, but Zhenya brought an external hard drive with all his DVDs. He wasn’t the only one with the idea, and they now have a digital library with all the videos, music, and e-books brought to Atlantis. It means an overwhelming number of titles to choose from, but Zhenya knows what he wants to watch.

Once they’re back at his quarters, Zhenya changes into lounge pants and a loose t-shirt and curls up on the couch. He wiggles and stretches until he’s comfortable which, of course, is when Sidney appears in his vision, hovering near the armrest.

Zhenya’s too comfortable to move so he pats the cushion and says, “Join,”

Sidney eyes the space, dubious, before he lies down, his back against Zhenya’s chest. 

“I’m going to fall off,” Sidney says so Zhenya wraps his arm around Sidney’s waist. “That’s your bad arm.”

“So don’t fall. Now, shh, the movie’s starting.”

_ Pacific Rim _ is one of Zhenya’s favorite movies, and somehow he’s grown to love it even more since coming to Atlantis. It’s a reminder that humanity can tackle anything, no matter how big or how scary it might seem. He tears up in the beginning and grins when he first sees Mako, tiny but  _ fierce _ .

SIdney is perfectly still, quiet, until they show a shot of the city, the streets lined with people.

Then, he gasps, and he reaches out to pause the movie. He doesn’t say anything for a long time, simply staring at the screen until he says, “There are so many.”

“So many what?” There are no Jaegers, not even any Kaiju in this scene.

“People.” Sidney reaches towards the screen like he can reach into the movie. “This is what your city looks like during a disaster?”

“This isn’t my city. I come from a smaller city. Sasha’s city’s bigger than mine.”

“You have many cities?” Sidney flips to face Zhenya, movie forgotten.

“Thousands. Maybe more. I wasn’t very good at geography.”

“Thousands?” Sidney repeats.

“Some cities are big, some are small, but they’re all full of people.”

“Full. What’s full?”

Zhenya shrugs. “Depends on the city. There are a couple billion humans on Earth.”

Sidney clicks and whirs as he tries to process, his mouth hanging open long enough that Zhenya’s afraid he’s broken him.

“ _ Billions _ ?” Sidney finally asks.

“One day, maybe you’ll see,” Zhenya says. “I’ll take you to Tokyo or New York City, and you can see everyone packed together on the sidewalks.”

“I would like that. WIll you show me your Jaegers too?”

“Those aren’t real. This movie, it’s fiction.”

“Oh. Maybe you should build them. They’d be useful against the Wraith.”

“Maybe you can invent them. We could pilot together.”

“We couldn’t. There are no secrets between partners.” Sidney turns back to face the computer and hits play.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Have some action and a little bit of drama :)
> 
> And feel free to swing by my tumblr and say hi (or remind me to post). :))

“Theory’s all well and good,” Tanger says after their training, “but I want some practical application.”

Sidney doesn’t huff or curl in on himself the way he did in the first two weeks he was on Atlantis. He grins, a little crooked, and says, “Unless you have a Wraith dart lying around then I can’t help you.”

Tanger looks at Horny who grins and looks at Sasha as Phil says, “No way. Rule fucking one of...I don’t know,  _ life _ \-- you don’t invite trouble.”

“It can’t be that hard to find a dart,” Horny says as if Phil hadn’t spoken. “The Wraith are crawling all over this galaxy.”

“You want to lead a strike against the Wraith?” Sidney’s entire body lights up. “How big an operation do you want to destroy?” At their looks, Sidney rolls his eyes. “I spent years running from the Wraith, and you think I didn’t find any of their hideouts? When Nate and I were together we took a few out. It was too difficult when I was on my own.”

“You’re not alone anymore,” Sasha says, “and I have a few weapons I want to test. We should pick something small for our first run.”

“I know I’m not usually the voice of reason, but we should run this by Lemieux before we get too excited,” Tanger says.

~*~*~*~*~

They have to wait until Zhenya’s completely healed, but Lemieux gives them the go ahead to destroy a small base and bring home as much tech as they can to study.

“Small,” Lemieux emphasizes during their preparations. “One, I don’t want to lose any of you. Two, and this is the most important, no Wraith that has seen us can live. We don’t want them to know about Atlantis. We’re not ready for a full assault.”

“We’ll be careful,” Zhenya promises.

Sasha and Lemieux exchange a look that Zhenya doesn’t want to examine too closely. The military men speak a different language than Zhenya does. He fights if he has to, but he doesn’t seek it out the way Sasha does. The only reason he’s on this mission is because their team is successful because they’re a  _ team _ . With one of them missing, they tend to fall apart.

If Zhenya's honest, he’s nervous that their first real mission with Sidney is such a dangerous one. All the drills can’t prepare them for the real deal, and they’re still in the dark about a lot of Sidney’s capabilities and even basic biology. What’s a critical hit on him? WIll he follow Sasha’s orders?

When they meet at the gate, Sidney’s practically glowing. He’s the most animated Zhenya’s seen him; eyes bright, moving with a speed and precision Zhenya hasn’t seen before. He’s  _ crisper _ as if he’s had a good night’s sleep, but, as far as Zhenya can tell, he hasn’t slept since coming to Atlantis.

“This seems a little risky just to get a few new toys,” Phil says as he slings his bag over his shoulder.

“We need to learn more about them,” Sasha says. “This is the best way to do it.”

Everyone agrees it’s a high risk mission which is why participation was voluntary. It’s also a necessary mission which is why they’re all here. Zhenya knows the importance of learning about their enemy, and Sidney’s hinted that he can develop weapons out of Wraith technology and that had Sasha sold.

“Let’s go fuck up some Wraith,” Horny says.

Flower powers up the gate.

~*~*~*~*~

One of the reasons they picked this planet is because, at least from Sidney’s possibly outdated intel, the Wraith aren’t camped out around the gate.

“It’s too far away from the caves,” Sidney said during one of their prep meetings. “They prefer to be underground. Dark and damp is where they thrive. Lucky for us, most gates are in open fields.”

“No guards?”

“Who are they afraid of?” Sidney asks. “There might be something on the gate to alert them when it's activated which could spoil some of the surprise in our surprise attack, but they won’t be stationed around it.”

“We’ll have to be quick,” Sasha said.

And they are. They gate to an empty planet then to their target from there and as soon as their feet touch the ground they run towards the tree line so they’ll have some kind of cover if the Wraith descend.

They’re all breathing hard when they reach the forest, and Zhenya’s ears strain for any hint that the Wraith know they’re here.

“How long do we wait?” Tanger asks.

“We don’t,” Sidney says. “If they send a dart here then it divides their forces so we should attack now. If they don’t send a dart then we still attack now.”

The team looks to Sasha.

“We move out but stay alert. They might be hoping to surprise  _ us _ .”

Zhenya checks to make sure his gun is clipped to his belt.

Sidney’s armor appears over his arms and his chest but no where else. It makes him look odd, too wide across the shoulders compared to the size of his head, but it’s no doubt to keep him mobile. Zhenya doesn’t know how clunky the armor is, but it’s probably too heavy to wear all of it.

“I lead,” Sasha says, staring Sidney down as if he’s expecting a fight.

Sidney shrugs. “Then I go last.”

“But I go last,” Zhenya says.

“Seriously?” Horny asks.

“Figure it out,” Sasha says before he starts walking.

Zhenya falls into step next to Sidney. “I’m always last.”

“Me too.”

“You’re always first,” Zhenya says. “And last. And everything in between.”

Sidney scowls, but he doesn't have a good counter argument so Zhenya falls back a step and takes his customary place at the end of the line.

It’s a quiet journey through the woods, lacking Horny’s usual singing or Tanger and Phil’s banter. They’re quiet but the forest is quieter, and Zhenya winces every time a stick snaps as if that’s what will bring the Wraith down on their heads.

They’ve been walking for what feels like hours but is probably less when the trees thin, giving way to thick shrubbery, and Sasha holds his hand up for them to stop.

He points several meters out to where the ground drops, a steep cliff face, and they creep closer until they can see what’s at the bottom.

Wraith.

There are three darts and four visible Wraith, but Zhenya would bet good money on there being more. Hiding in the caves along the cliffside, no doubt.

They pull back from the edge of the cliff to huddle up.

“Do we pick them off from here?” Horny asks. “We have long range weapons.”

“Too risky. We need to be on the ground.” Sasha eyes Sidney. “Can you survive the drop down?”

Sidney shakes his head.

“Then we walk until we find a way down that isn’t in plain view of the Wraith.”

“Should we gather more intel?” Tanger asks. “What if there’s more than three darts?”

“Then we better take care of these three quickly,” Sasha says.

Sidney laughs.

No one else does.

Zhenya knows Sasha’s been frustrated, he’s a man of action and their approach is often ‘wait and see’ or ‘wait and react’. This is finally his chance to attack, and he wants to seize it, but Zhenya’s with Tanger. They need more information before they do anything.

But Sasha leads which means more walking and then they scale the cliff face which’ll be a pain to climb back up when they return to the gate.

_ If  _ they return.

Zhenya shoves the thought out of his mind. Doubt won’t help him here.

“Priority is the darts,” Sasha says. “We want to ground them. Which means you might have to wait on your demonstration. Tanger, you and Zhenya take the dart closest to us. I’ll take the westernmost. Sidney, you and Horny have the third one.”

Tanger hands Sasha a block of C-4.

“I don’t like this,” Phil says. “It splits us up and maybe we destroy the darts but there are still the Wraith themselves.”

Sasha considers this then nods. “New plan. C-4 the first two then meet up at the third. We’ll fight from there.”

“No way they just let us do that,” Zhenya says.

“They will if they’re distracted.” Sasha pulls a gun with a little more kick out of his bag.

“Ah, hell,” Zhenya says.

“I  _ really  _ don’t like this,” Phil adds.

“I’ll head to my dart straight away,” Sidney says. “I can provide a distraction as well. My armor will shield my from their weapons. And if they get too close…” Sidney’s blades spring from his armor.

They creep closer to where the darts are parked.

“How quickly does our plan break down?” Phil whispers.

“As soon as we engage the enemy.” Sasha grins as if he’s excited for the challenge. Zhenya wishes they never came here.

Zhenya, Tanger, Horny, and Phil are left behind to wait until the Wraith are honed in on Sidney and Sasha to make their move towards the darts. It means there’s nothing for Zhenya to do but fret as Sidney and Sasha fan out and then explode out of the underbrush, pulling the Wraith’s attention in two directions.

Sidney’s in full armor now, and there’s a mounted gun Zhenya doesn’t recall seeing before on his arm. Sidney shoots the Wraith running towards the dart with some kind of energy pulse. One hit and the Wraith drops to the ground.

“He’s been holding out on us,” Tanger says.

Sasha fires three rounds into a Wraith and that’s two Wraith down. Sidney reaches the furthest dart and then it’s Zhenya’s turn to run. He and Horny take one of the remaining darts while Tanger and Phil take the other.

Sasha chirps the Wraith focused on him in cheerful Russian between shots and Zhenya finds the swears and attacks on the Wraith’s ancestry almost comforting as he watches Horny’s back.

“Ready to run?” Horny asks.

Zhenya nods.

“Here we go,” Horny says and then they sprint towards Sidney. The Wraith that charges the now unclaimed dart dies in the explosion. Zhenya’s grateful for the earplugs Phil handed out when they realized they wouldn’t be able to fully clear the blast range.

“One down!” Zhenya shouts.

Sidney guns down the two Wraith who race out of the cave to investigate. Zhenya pulls his scanner out and ducks behind Horny’s cover to check it. He still can’t help up glance up, afraid he’ll be shot at. His scanner tells him there are six more Wraith, one chasing Sasha, four deep in the cave, and one coming at them awfully fast.

Tanger and Phil join them just as another explosion rocks the ground.

“Two down!” Tanger announces.

A fourth dart flies out of the cave, and Horny’s, “Oh shit!” is almost drowned out by Sidney’s, “Take cover!”

Zhenya doesn’t even know what that means. He’s frozen in place as Sidney presses his palm against the underbelly of the dart and his fingers open up to reveal wires which attach themselves to the ship.

“Uh,” Tanger says.

There’s a hum that grows steadily loud and Sidney begins to glow, almost blinding, before a large pulse of energy blasts from the gun mounted on his arm. It his the nose of the dart, causing the ship to spin out of control. Another blast and the dart crashes.

“Another?” Sidney asks.

“Is it disabled?” Tanger asks.

Smoke pours from the cockpit as the Wraith in the ship jumps out. Horny shoots him dead.

“Yes,” Sidney says. “If possible, I would prefer to keep it.”

Tanger eyes Sidney’s fingers, still hooked into the dart they’re huddled against. “Yeah.”

“Cover me!” Sasha shouts as he runs towards them, a Wraith on his tail.

Zhenya lifts his gun and shoots, not aiming so much as trying to make enough noise to keep the Wraith at bay. 

Sasha dives to join them, barely escaping enemy fire, and Sidney hums again as a shimmering barrier encases them.

“There’s one Wraith on the outside and four still in the caves,” Sidney says. “What’s the plan of attack?”

“You want to hunt some Wraith?” Sasha asks.

Sidney grins, bright and terrifying. Zhenya’s glad he’s on their side.

“Any sign of movement, you comm us,” Sasha tells Tanger.

“Yes, sir.”

The barrier dissolves as the wires connecting Sidney to the dart pull back into his body. He shoots the final Wraith outside the cave with almost indifference.

“There’s enough power left to blow this one up,” Sidney says. “I’ll show you and then you’ll only have one dart to guard.”

Zhenya watches Sidney yank out wires and cross some and connect others. Horny nods like this makes sense to him, but Zhenya has no idea what’s going on. He elects himself lookout and keeps his gaze trained on the mouth of the cave until Sasha grabs his arm and Sidney tells him to run.

They duck behind the last remaining dart and take cover as the other one explodes.

“Three down,” Sidney says, a spark in his eyes that Zhenya hasn’t seen before. He opens the dart to pull out the two reserve fuel cells and he places them in his bag before he checks the third. “There’s enough fuel to rig this one too, but your C-4 works as well.”

“If you come back alone then we’ll rig it,” Horny says, “but if you come back hot we’ll set the C-4 and run.”

Sidney nods and reaches into his bag for a gun that looks closer to Wraith technology then what the rest of them are carrying. He holds it out to Sasha. “It’s a modified version of their own weapon. One hit and they go down. There’s not much energy left, but you don’t need many shots.”

Sasha grins. “You’re not a bad marksman yourself.”

The two of them check their primary weapons then their back-ups and then Sidney entrusts Zhenya with his backpack so they can leave.

“This is  _ heavy _ ,” Tanger says once SIdney and Sasha disappear into the cave. He hefts Sidney’s bag off the ground with both hands. “He must be strong, eh?”

Zhenya shrugs. “I guess.”

“You’re a terrible spy.”

Zhenya pulls his shoulders up to his ears. “I don’t want to be a spy.”

“Can we not do this here?” Phil asks. He shifts his weight, uncomfortable with how exposed they are.

“You said there are four Wraith in the cave?” Tanger asks.

Zhenya checks his scanner. “Three now.”

“They can take three, right?” Tanger fiddles with the straps on his bag. “Caves are enclosed spaces. Who does that give an advantage to?”

“Two now,” Zhenya says.

They all crowd around Zhenya’s scanner except for Horny who stays as their lookout.

“Which dots are them?” Phil asks.

“Are they winning?” Tanger wants to know.

“Stop crowding me,” Zhenya snaps.

The Sasha-dot moves too fast and then doesn’t move at all. ZHenya holds his breath and prays the light doesn’t turn off.

“That’s not good,” Tanger says. He hits Phil’s shoulder. “That’s not good, right?”

Zhenya’s heart climbs into his throat. Sasha was his friend before this mission--they went to school together and played hockey together and then parted ways only to be reunited in the program which eventually brought them to Atlantis. And now Zhenya’s let him out of his sight and--

“I should go in there.”

“Nope.” Horny holds an arm out. “The major said to stay here.”

“Sasha needs us.”

“If he needs anyone it’s Phil,” Tanger says.

“We stay here,” Horny repeats.

The last Wraith dot blinks out and Zhenya slaps his comm on. “Sasha? Do you need us?”

“I’m fine,” Sasha answers. “You worry too much. Like a mother hen. Cluck, cluck.”

“Better than being a sheep,” Zhenya shoots back. Relief washes through him, and tears prickle at the corners of his eyes. His mother would never forgive him if he came home without Sasha.  _ Tatiana  _ would never forgive him if he came back without Sasha. “You stopped moving.”

“I had the breath knocked out of me. I’m fine. We’re looting their nest then we’ll be out. Everything still quiet out there?”

“Yes. Hurry. I want to leave. It’s too quiet.”

Sasha clucks at him again.

“Weirdo,” Zhenya says, fond, once he’s turned his comm off.

It’s a long ten minutes until Sidney and Sasha emerge from the cave with a makeshift sled full of their bounty. It’s mostly fuel cells, but also weapons and some other things Zhenya doesn't recognize. Sasha walks gingerly, but he doesn't look too hurt, and he allows Phil to do a quick check to prove it.

“Cluck at  _ me _ and you’re on bedrest for a week,” Phil warns.

Sasha snaps his mouth shut.

“We have thirty minutes before the C-4 we set blows,” Sidney says, his words slow and his pronunciation off. He’s armorless now and pale, veins visible through his skin.

Tanger takes a fuel cell off the sled and hands it to him. “Juice up.”

Sidney stares at him, unmoving.

“I’m not stupid,” Tanger says. “You need energy to function, and we don’t know if more Wraith are on their way. Top off just in case.”

Sidney stares for another long moment before the wires in his fingers creep out and latch themselves to the fuel cell. As the cell drains, Sidney gains more color until there’s pink in his cheeks and flecks of gold in his eyes.

“There we go,” Tanger says. He opens his pack. “Want me to help you carry these?”

“Please,” Sidney says then, cautious, “but they’re mine.”

“As soon as we’re in Atlantis I’ll give them back.”

They split their loot up amongst all their backpacks and wire the final dart to explode before they begin their trek back to the gate. It’s slower now, everyone tired and their packs heavier, but they talk this time, and it makes the trip seem faster.

They stop once for a snack and once because Tanger has to piss, but they make it to the gate without incident, and Horny gates them to an abandoned planet before he scrambles the address to cover their tracks. It isn’t perfect but it should keep the Wraith from tracking them back to Atlantis.

“Will they want revenge on who killed them?” Horny asks as he dials home.

“They were killed with Wraith weapons,” Sidney answers. “With any luck, they'll turn on themselves. And without luck, they won’t have anything to trace back to us.”

Horny grins as he comms Flower. “Atlantis, this is Exploratory Team 1 requesting permission to come home.”

“Permission granted,” Flower says.

~*~*~*~*~

They come through the gate greeted by cheers, and Tanger immediately launches into French when he sees Flower, no doubt  giving him an exaggerated account of their mission. Phil and Horny make a b-line for Hagelin, and Sasha’s already found Backstrom which leaves SIdney and Zhenya alone together.

“We did good,” Zhenya says. He’s exhausted--adrenaline and exertion--but he knows his day is far from over. “We’ll have to debrief before we can shower or rest. I hope there’s food.”

“A feast for victory?”

“Not quite. Is that what Halifaxans do?”

“We don’t fight unless we have to, but I’ve heard stories of people who celebrate their warriors.”

“Some human cultures do. In the past, a lot of them did. I wonder if anyone has a translation of  _ Beowulf _ .”

“Another text of yours?”

Their discussion of literature is interrupted when Lemieux and Jagr appear at the top of the stairs. 

“Welcome home,” Jagr says.

“We have food for you,” Lemieux adds.

It’s a mad rush to the stairs and Lemieux laughs as he steps aside so he won’t be trampled. Sidney is is the only one of them who doesn’t hurry, but Zhenya suspects it’s because human food isn’t as important to him as the fuel cell he drained on their mission.

Familiar guilt gnaws at Zhenya as he grabs two sandwiches and an apple. How long has Sidney been with them and they haven’t been feeding him properly? He has a stash of fuel cells so clearly he’s been fine, and he was keeping it a secret but still. Zhenya should’ve been a better host.

And more observant.

All the good sandwiches are gone by the time Sidney joins them, but he’s still weirdly fascinated by PB&J and loads a plate with two of them. After a look at everyone else’s plates he adds an apple to his.

He’s so obviously mimicking them to fit in that Zhenya’s embarrassed he didn’t notice it before.

“The mission was successful, I presume?” Lemieux asks.

“Yes, sir,” Sasha says between bites of tomato and mozzarella. “Four darts destroyed, eleven Wraith killed, and we looted their base before destroying that as well.”

Zhenya has to put his sandwich down so they can empty their bags and he watches as Sasha separates their finds into weapons, fuel cells, and unknowns.

“The fuel cells are Sidney’s,” Sasha says. “His help was invaluable.”

“Of course,” Lemieux says. “Thank you, SIdney. What can you tell us about what else is on the table?”

Sidney stops staring at Sasha, redirecting his attention to the table. “Wraith weapons are different than yours. They use energy packs rather than bullets.” He pulls a small black box from the  _ unknown  _ pile. He opens it to reveal several energy packs nestled together. I believe your techs,” he nods towards Horny, “will be able to develop recharging technology so they can have multiple uses.”

“Is that what your gun is modeled from?” Sasha asks.

“Yes, though I obviously had an alternate power source.” For Lemieux and Jagr’s benefit, Sidney adds, “I used the dart’s fuel cells to power my gun. Different sources change the kind of blast you can produce. An energy pack won’t take down a dart the way the fuel cells could. Linking a cannon to one of your Zed-PMs might be able to take down a hive ship.”

“ZPM,” Sasha corrects. “Who the hell has been teaching you English?”

Tanger beams.

“Gentleman,” Jagr interjects before their squabbling can distract them.

“We’ll have to hold off on Zed-PM expreminetionat,” Lemieux says. The faint smile on his lips vanishes as he adds, “We need them for defense and to contact Earth. Weaponizing them can’t be a priority.”

“We can work on the schematics,” Horny says, “but we’ll hold off on the testing.”

“Good,” Lemieux says. “What else do we have?”

~*~*~*~*~

After a long, hot shower, the day catches up to him, and Zhenya’s too tired to leave his room. He should probably eat again before bed, but he isn’t up to the walk to the mess hall or the energy it would take to interact with other people. Everyone’s impressed with them and any other time Zhenya would soak up the praise, but right now it seems like too much.

The rest of the team must have similar thoughts because Sasha shows up with protein bars and then Tanger arrives with his Washtonian beer, and Phil has chocolate. Horny brings popcorn and Sidney watches, curious, as everyone sprawls over Zhenya’s limited furniture.

Sasha even drags Zhenya’s mattress into the living room, and they all make themselves comfortable except for Sidney who continues to hover, unsure if he can join or not.

“Team bonding,” Sasha says. He holds a protein bar out to Sidney. “It’s mandatory. Snuggle up.”

Sidney still looks confused, but he sits between Tanger and Zhenya, his knees pulled up as close to his chest as he can. Zhenya wants to hug him or tell him to claim his space like the rest of these assholes, but he doesn’t, wary of being pushy.

And then Tanger says, “I think there’s a translation issue,” and tackles Sidney so they can spoon. “ _ This  _ is snuggling.”

“I like it,” SIdney says.

Tanger pats his hip. “Good.”

They snack and then Horny puts on a movie, and Zhenya doesn’t even last ten minutes before he’s asleep. He’s warm, he’s fed, and he’s surrounded by his teammates. Sasha, more perceptive and kinder than Zhenya sometimes gives him credit for, has an arm wrapped around Zhenya’s waist so Zhenya can fall asleep to the steady rise and fall of Sasha’s chest.

They’re alive and they’re safe and now they can rest.

~*~*~*~*~

Zhenya wakes up to a dark room, the movie off, the lights dimmed which means it’s still nighttime. 

Sasha’s speaking quietly, Russian which makes Zhenya’s chest ache. He catches something about power sources and team, but when he lifts his head, Sasha shushes him and he falls back asleep.

~*~*~*~*~

Sasha’s gone when Zhenya wakes up in the morning, but everyone else is here, including Sidney who looks wide awake from where he’s still cuddled by Tanger. Zhenya eases himself out from under Phil’s arm so he can grab his camera and take a picture. 

Sidney wrinkles his nose at the flash, and Phil stirs and Tanger buries his face in Sidney’s shoulder.

“Too late,” ZHenya says cheerfully. “Your bedhead has been documented for eternity.”

“Fuck you,” Tanger mumbles. “My hair is fabulous.”

“Hags’s is better,” Horny says, awake now, a shit-eating grin on his face.

“I hate all of you.”

“Shut up or go away,” Phil says.

“Or we could go to breakfast,” Zhenya suggests.

Unsurprisingly, it’s food that gets everyone moving.

“Should we change?” Horny asks.

“We showered after the mission and these are clean clothes,” Phil says. “I vote we’re good.”

Tanger looks horrified.

“You’re outvoted,” Zhenya tells him. “Breakfast then you can play fashion model.”

In all the bustle, Sidney gets a little lost and, honestly, Zhenya forgets about him until he checks his room one last time and sees Sidney holding the camera.

“May I?” Sidney asks.

“Sure.”

Sidney’s fingers open up, wires connecting to the camera. After a moment, they retract and Sidney sets the camera down.

“Could we have a picture of our whole team?” Sidney asks as he joins the rest of them. “I’d like to add it to the Archive.”

“You want  _ us _ in your information vault?” Tanger asks.

“You’re important to me,” Sidney says and then ducks his head but not before Zhenya sees his blush.

“Aw, we like you too,” Tanger says, pulling Sidney in for a one-armed hug.

Sidney whirs as his blush deepens, and his cheeks are still pink when they reach the mess hall. Sasha, of course, notices right away, and he pats Sidney’s cheeks and coos at him until Sidney bats his hands away with a scowl.

“I’ve changed my mind,” Sidney says. “We can leave Ovie out of the picture.”

“Ovie?” Sasha says as everyone else laughs. “Aren’t we friends now? Call me Sasha. And I call you Sid.”

“Okay,” Sid says with much less fight than Zhenya expected.

“Now that we’re friends, I have a present for you.”

Sidney look at him, cautious hope in his eyes.

“I met with Colonel Lemieux and Dr. Jagr this morning. While you’re on Atlantis, it’s a waste of your resources to charge with your fuel cells when Atlantis is; well,  _ Atlantis _ .”

“I can plug into Atlantis?”

“Yes.”

Sidney throws his arms around Sasha. “Thank you! I won’t access any of your data vaults. I’ll simply recharge. I’ll be more use to you when I’m operating at full capacity.”

“What did you call yesterday?” Phil asks. “That wasn’t full capacity?”

“It was unstable,” Sidney answers. “Like you, certain consumables have different properties.”

“Do you want to skip breakfast then?” Zhenya asks.

“You need to eat, and I can be patient.”

Sidney’s animated through breakfast, giving Phil his coffee without asking for anything in return, and then he tells them stories about Halifax. He laughs at jokes they don’t have context for and gestures broadly with his hands and promises to take them to his planet one day.

Before they part ways after breakfast, Horny enlists Hags to take a picture of them.

Sidney uploads it into his system and beams all the way back to their room.

~*~*~*~*~

Zhenya doesn’t know how long it takes for Sidney to charge so he insists on making a blanket net for Sid to curl up in.

“Do you want to be alone for this?” Zhenya asks.

“It’s not secret. It might be boring for you, but I won’t shut down so I’ll be able to talk with you. Or you can read or watch a movie. You don’t need to entertain me.”

Even with permission, Zhenya feels odd watching as wires peel out of Sidney’s skin so they can connect to the outlet. It’s intimate in a way Zhenya can’t quite put into words, and when Sidney’s eyes slip shut, blissed out, Zhenya knows he should look away but he doesn’t.

And then Sid begins to tremble, eyes snapping open and shut, a high-pitched whine screeching from somewhere inside him.

_ That can’t be good _ , Zhenya thinks.

Sidney yanks his wires out of the way, and his eyes are unfocused as he seeks out Zhenya.

“I was not entirely truthful with you.” 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which we resolve a cliffhanger and meet a new friend.

“I was not entirely truthful with you,” Sidney says.

“You already said that.”

“I--” Sid pauses, mouth twisting. “I--was not--entirely truthful.”

Should Zhenya call Sasha? Lemieux? This isn’t right and it definitely isn’t good.

“I--” the word is like taffy, pulled from Sidney’s mouth. “I haven’t had a steady power source in...a long time.”

“What does that mean? Do you need my help?”

Zhenya swears he can see gears turning in Sid’s head as he struggles to answer.

I--” Sidney blinks, quickly at first then slower and slower until his eyes don’t open at all.

Zhenya scrambles to the wall where he slams on the communication device. “It’s Sid. I need Phil--no, Horny.  _ Someone _ .”

The entire team shows up which Zhenya is grateful for, because it means he can fret to Sasha as Phil and Horny crouch down next to Sid.

“What happened?” Horny asks.

“He connected to Atlantis and now he’s glitching.” Zhenya turns to Sasha, dread pooling in his stomach. “You didn’t…”

“I didn’t,” Sasha promises. “I tried to do something nice for him. And now I’ve broken him.”

Sid’s eyes snap open and, startled, Phil falls back and lands on his ass.

“I need…” Sid turns to Zhenya. “I need you to watch over my recharge. Please.”

“Of course,” Zhenya agrees. He’d agree to anything right now. “What’s wrong, though? Are you hurt?”

“It’s been a long time,” Sid says. Then, “Thank you.”

Each word sounds like a struggle and when Sid finishes, his wires reach for the wall again.

“Wait,” Zhenya says but Sid either doesn't hear him or ignores him.

When the wires connect this time, Sid slumps, head falling forward, body curling in on itself.

“What the fuck,” Tanger says.

Horny pokes Sid’s shoulder and then leans in close, ear pressed to Sid’s curls.

“What did he say to you?” Horny asks.

“Um.” Zhenya tries to think about something besides how lifeless Sid looks. “That he hasn’t had a steady power source in a long time.”

“Oh.” Horny sits back on his heels. “He’s  _ updating _ .”

“What like when Windows fucks with my computer and forces a restart?” Tanger asks.

“Basically. Except Sid’s a hell of a lot more complicated than a computer. The good news is he’ll be better after the update is complete. The bad news is I don’t know how long it’ll take.”

“I’m here for him,” Zhenya says. “No matter how long it takes.”

“ _ We _ ,” Sasha says, putting a hand on Zhenya’s shoulder. “I’ll tell Lemieux to take us off the mission roster.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“We’ll do shifts of two,” Sasha says. “I expect everyone to keep up with their training _ and _ their health.” This last bit is accompanied with a look for Zhenya. “If you aren’t eating and aren’t sleeping then I’ll take you off the rotation.”

“I bet Flower will help,” Tanger says. “That gives us three rotations.”

“Thank you,” Zhenya says. He drops onto his couch for the first watch.

~*~*~*~*~

Lemieux isn’t pleased his best team wants to babysit Sid, but Sasha manages to convince him to give them two weeks off active duty provided they keep up with all their Atlantis tasks. 

It means Zhenya spends hours at his computer staring at DNA sequences for local plants trying to figure out what’s original, what’s a product of hybridization, and how best to cultivate them. It’s the boring side of what Zhenya does, but he narrates to Sid as he works and that helps. 

“Bean plants are very important,” Zhenya tells Sid in Russian. “We knew how to crossbreed plants and acclimate them to different environments, but beans told us  _ why _ and helped to perfect the science.”

“Keep this up and I’ll fall asleep,” Sasha warns.

“I’m experimenting with rice,” Zhenya continues, undeterred. “Still no luck on the coffee. Maybe there’s something in your Archive that could help. If you found coffee then you could have all the Jello you want.”

Sid remains motionless and quiet save for the low hum as he downloads or processes or whatever it is he’s doing.

“It’s a good thing you didn’t become a teacher,” Sasha says.

Zhenya flips him off.

~*~*~*~*~

On the third day of Sid’s updating, Zhenya and Sasha are called in for a meeting with Jagr and Lemieux.

“Any progress?” Lemieux asks.

“Not that we have the ability to determine,” Sasha answers.

“I don’t like that you’re grounded.”

Zhenya isn’t technically military, but Lemieux’s disappointment weighs heavy like Zhenya’s papa’s had growing up. But in this case, Zhenya has to accept the disappointment, because he won’t abandon Sid. Not when Sid asked for Zhenya to guard him.

“I figured out how to boost the rice,” Zhenya tells Jagr and he’s rewarded with a smile. “Not the yield increase yet but the nutrition value. If the worst happens then we can now survive entirely on potatoes or rice.”

“Good work,” Jagr praises. “I’ll speak to Backstrom about where to grow our rice. His people mostly eat fish so I want to experiment with fish farms around Atlantis. It’s important to have a food source at hand.”

“I also want to study the root the Washtonians swear by. Burakovsky gave me some. I believe it can function both like a potato and be dried and used in a similar way to flour.”

“We need a chef,” Jagr decides. “Who on base knows how to cook?”

“How’s the weapons research?” Lemieux asks.

“Slow without Sid,” Sasha admits, “but Horny’s had a few breakthroughs. He can link the small guns to portable fuel cells, similar to what Sid can do. He thinks he’ll be able to do it on a larger scale which will give us something to use against Hive ships.”

“You won’t power  _ that _ with fuel cells,” Lemieux sighs. “We need you searching for ZPMs.”

“In eleven days,” Sasha says.

~*~*~*~*~

“We need you to get better,” Zhenya tells Sidney that night once Sasha’s asleep on the couch. “I don’t want to leave you.”

Sidney doesn’t stir.

~*~*~*~*~

Zhenya’s poking at his breakfast when Sheary, one of the young guys with the expedition, rushes into the mess hall. He scans the room until he sees Zhenya and then he runs over, narrowly avoiding a collision with Kuhnhackl, a German who’s earned the nickname Junior because he’s become Kunitz’s shadow. 

“Colonel Lemieux wants you and Major Ovechkin.” Sheary gulps in a breath. “Backstrom’s found a Halifaxan.”

Sasha and Zhenya both abandon their breakfasts and head straight for the gate room. He knew Backstrom has been on missions, Lemieux finds a way to drop it into every conversation as if that’ll make Sasha leave Atlantis ahead of schedule.

Jagr and Lemieux are both waiting for them.

“I want you to speak with him,” Jagr tells Zhenya. “You’re the closest we have to a Halifaxan expert.”

“If he’s dangerous then you don’t bring him back no matter how sad his story,” Lemieux tells Sasha.

“Does he need a doctor?” Zhenya asks.

“He needs someone to tell his story to,” Jagr answers. “And he needs some good news.”

Zhenya nods. “What’s his name?”

“Jack. Jack Johnson.”

~*~*~*~*~

Backstrom and Johnson are in the back corner of an inn, a bowl of soup between them, untouched. Steam rises from the bowl and Zhenya’s stomach growls, reminding him that he cut breakfast short.

Johnson looks up at the sound, and he sits up straighter, wary, but he lacks the subtlety and grace Sid has. Not a Guardian then?

“Hello,” Zhenya says. He holds a translator out. “I gift this knowledge to you.”

Backstrom must translate, because Johnson holds his hands out for the device. Wires emerge from his fingers, same as Sidney, and they plug into the device.

“Hello,” Zhenya says again.

“Hello,” Johnson says.

Zhenya sits next to Backstrom and offers what he hopes is a comforting smile. Sasha stays standing, his back to Johnson so he can watch the entrance to the inn.

“I”m Geno and that is Alex. You have met Nicklas, yes?”

Johnson nods and glances as Sasha’s gun before he tries to shrink in his seat.

“I am a gatherer of knowledge,” Zhenya tells Jack. “And Alex protects me, similar to your Guardians.”

Jack gives Zhenya his full attention for the first time. “You’ve heard of Halifax?”

“I’ve met one of your brothers. He’s looking for you.”

“More have escaped?”

“Escaped? Your people are in trouble?”

Johnson presses his lips together.

“Sorry,” Zhenya says. “I’m being rude. When your planet was attacked by the Wraith, your Guardians held them off so you could escape.”

“You’ve found a  _ Guardian _ ?” Jack demands. He leans forward. “I thought they were all dead. Taylor swears her brother will save us but--”

“You’ve seen Taylor?” Zhenya interrupts. “She’s alive and well?”

“She created the diversion so I could escape. How do you know about Taylor? Wait--you found  _ Sidney _ ?”

Zhenya nods.

“Son of a motherboard,” Johnson says. “Taylor was right. Where is he? Can I see him? We were neighbors, inseparable until he started Guardian training. How did he survive the Wraith?”

“That’s his story to tell,” Zhenya answers. “And, he’s, uh, updating right now.”

Johnson blinks, his posturing loosening. “Yeah? He’s been with you awhile then.” Something must show on Zhenya’s face because Johnson says, “No? You must’ve made some kind of impression on him.”

“He’s my friend.”

Sasha scoffs.

“Shut up, he’s your friend too.”

Sasha shrugs but doesn’t deny it.

“He’s been looking for you,” Zhenya says again.

“He’s looking for the Archive,” Johnson corrects. He waves off Zhenya’s protests. “He’s a Guardian, that’s his job. But when he’s active again, I can tell him where to find the rest of us. I’m not sure it’ll do much good, though.”

“Oh?”

“Sidney’s good,” Johnson says, “The best of us, but he’s only one guy.” Johnson eyes Sasha’s gun, speculative. “You’re friends? What does that mean to your people? Who even are you?”

Johnson pulls in on himself again and even Zhenya has figured out that Johnson is the Halifax equivalent of a civilian and that there’s a big difference between civilians and Guardians. He wishes Sid was here and awake for this.

“They’re new to the Pegasus Galaxy,” Backstrom says.

Johnson laughs. “New? How can you be new?”

“The gates.”

Johnson looks from Backstrom to Zhenya, curious again. “A different galaxy? Are there Wraith there?”

Zhenya shakes his head.

“Then why the hell are you still here?”

“We’re stuck,” Zhenya admits. “We don’t have enough power to return home.”

“Let’s wrap this up,” Sasha says.

“Trouble?” Backstrom asks. He reaches for his bantos sticks.

“Genii.”

Johnson’s fingers curl around the knife on the table.

“Well,” Sasha says, noticing. “I think I know where to find the rest of the Halifaxans.”

“I won’t go back,” Johnson says. “If you’re truly friends of Sidney’s then you’ll protect me.”

“There’s a back exit,” Backstrom says.

“Time to go then,” Sasha tells them. “Nicky, what’re the rules for fighting on this planet?”

“They don’t like killing, and they hate destruction of property, but they don’t mind people settling their quarrels.”

“I’m not very good in a fight,” Johnson says. “Not like Sidney. I’m not bad with hand-to-hand stuff, but the Genii have electric batons. Not good for my circuitry.”

They sneak out the back door and then turn down the alley. Sasha leads and Zhenya brings up the rear, his hand on his gun in case he needs to draw. At the end of the alley, they cross the dirt packed road to reach another alley.

“Search everywhere with electricity,” someone says, their voice drifting through the open window above them. “He won’t last long without a power source.”

“Can I help you find something?” a new voice asks.

Sasha pauses so they can hear the rest of the exchange.

“I’ve lost some cargo. You haven’t seen a Halifaxan around? Humanoid but moves stiffly. This one is big with rough hands from manual labor.”

Zhenya pokes Sasha. The longer they stay here, the more danger they’re in. They have an uneasy truce with the Genii and if they jeopardize it over Johnson then Lemieux won’t be happy. They need to sneak Johnson out without being noticed or causing a diplomatic incident.

“You have a Halifaxan working your farmland?” the man inside laughs. “That’s a waste. If I find him, I’m keeping him.”

Sounds of a scuffle come through the window, and Sasha moves again. They make it out of the small town unnoticed, but there’s a big empty field between them and the gate, and it’s more exposed than Zhenya’s comfortable with.

“Aw, fuck,” Sasha says. He turns them towards the mountains. “There are guards by the gate. We won’t make it past them with Johnson. Once we find somewhere with cover we’ll contact the Colonel.”

It’s a long walk to the base of the mountains, especially with the sun beating down on their backs but no one follows them.

Sasha points to shaded rock. “Sit and eat something. Keep your guard up.”

He leaves to check in with Atlantis, and Zhenya pulls a ration bar out of his pocket. He holds it out to Jack. “Consumable? I’m sorry I don’t have any fuel cells to offer you. How are you holding up?”

“Better than I was this morning and not as good as I’ll be once I’m safe from the Genii. I guess you’ve met them.”

“We thought they were farmers, but they’re developing nuclear technology.”

“Yeah, that’s what they want us for. They need bodies and we needed somewhere to go. They seemed like a better option than the Wraith. But at least the Wraith kill you quickly.”

Johnson takes the ration bar and rips off a piece with his teeth. “How long will your friend be? Should I enter a recharge period? I’ll need a minimum of one of your hours for it to be worth it.”

“Is it hard to pull you from your recharge?”

“Sid’s never recharged with you?”

Zhenya shakes his head.

“But he’ll  _ update _ ?” Johnson huffs. “He’s a weird one. I’ll need five minutes to pull out of my recharge, but I can give you the command to use.”

“We should do that, then.”

~*~*~*~*~

When Sasha comes back from his phone call and sees Johnson motionless on the rock, he groans. “Not again.”

“It’s a recharge not an update,” Zhenya says as if he’s some kind of expert.

“We’re under strict orders not to engage the Genii so we’ll wait them out,” Sasha says. “If it takes too long then Horny’ll bring a puddle jumper to pick us up.”

“What happens if we engage them by accident?” Zhenya asks.

“Then we kill them. Try and sleep. I’ll wake you for your shift.”

Zhenya pillows his head on his arms and falls asleep to the quiet murmur of Sasha and Backstrom’s voices.

He wakes up with a stiff neck and eats a protein bar. The sun is setting which means it’ll probably be cold soon. 

“They’re still camped by the gate, but no one’s shown an interest in coming this way,” Sasha says. “Keep your gun on your and scan the nearby area every fifteen minutes. Wake me up if there’s any change.”

Sasha makes himself comfortable, his gun within reach, before he pats the space next to him.

“I’ll be fine,” Backstrom says.

“You don’t like the cold.”

Backstrom settles in next to Sasha. “Startle me and I might hit you.” 

“Startle  _ me  _ and I might shoot you.”

They grin at each other and Zhenya turns his attention to the gate and the lights from the town. The lights are faint this far out, tiny specks that might actually be the first stars of the night.

Zhenya pulls his scanner out to check.

Just them still.

~*~*~*~*~

Once it’s dark and Zhenya’s wrapped his coat tightly around himself, he wakes Johnson up. He feels a little guilty, but it’s that or fall asleep on his watch.

Johnson blinks awake, emitting a low hum as everything boots back up. He looks around. “It’s dark.”

“Your recharged for ten hours.”

“No wonder I feel so good.”

“Sasha and Backstrom are sleeping, and I needed someone to talk to. The Genii are still surrounding the gate, but they don’t seem interested in coming this far.”

“We didn’t tell them we can recharge on our own. They think we’re dependent on power sources. They have no reason to think I’d come out here.”

“Maybe they’ll give up and leave.”

Johnson laughs. “Then you don’t know them very well. They rely on no one realizing they’re more than farmers. I’m a danger to them. If you hadn’t found me then I’d be dead.” He laughs again, quieter this time. “I guess Taylor was right. Sidney did save me. I still don’t know how he’ll save the others.”

If they’re being held by the Genii then Zhenya doesn’t know either. “You’re close with Taylor, then? Sid’s been worried about her.”

“He always has. There’s a big gap between the two of them. The Elders gave his family Taylor to prepare him for protecting the Archive. But joke’s on them because if it comes down to it then he’ll choose Taylor. If he’s even the True Guardian.”

“You don’t know where the Archive is?” Zhenya feels a little guilt for drawing answers out of Johnson, but he’s so open compared to Sid and there’s so much they don’t know about the Halifaxans. 

“Only the True Guardian does and no one knows who he or she is. We might have finally out-secreted ourselves.”

“Sid thinks one of you has the Archive.”

“If we did then the Genii would already have it. Maybe it’s still on Halifax.”

Sid seems certain it’s with his people, but maybe Johnson is right. Hopefully Johnson is right. There’s a better chance at recovering it from Halifax than the heart of Genii territory.

Which leaves the question of how to convince Lemieux to launch an attack on the Genii to save Sidney’s people.

~*~*~*~*~

“We can’t do anything,” Lemieux says.

“The Halifaxans need our help,” Zhenya says. “They sought refuge from the Wraith and the Genii enslaved them.”

“We can’t risk a war with the Genii. We can’t always do the right thing.”

But they  _ should _ . Zhenya nods and keeps his mouth shut, because he knows an unwinnable fight when he sees him. After the meeting, Zhenya heads back to his quarters to relieve Horny and Phil of their watch.

“I hear you’ve found another,” Horny says.

“Yeah. He’s in the mess hall.”

“Without you as an escort?”

He wanted to see Sidney. It must come across, because Phil claps him on the shoulder and then they leave, and it’s just Zhenya and Sid in his quarters. 

Zhenya lies down next to Sid’s nest. “We found a friend of yours, Jack Johnson. He escaped from the Genii with Taylor’s help. We know where the rest of your people are.” Zhenya brushes Sid’s hair out of his face. “Mario says we can’t help rescue them. I want you to wake up, because I miss you, but I don’t want you disappointed in me. I wish there was something I could do.”

Zhenya lays a kiss against Sid’s forehead before he leaves his side to shower.

~*~*~*~*~

Two days after Johnson comes to Atlantis, Sidney wakes up.

Zhenya’s studying the Washtonian tuber under his microscope when he hears a series of beeps and when he turns, Sidney’s sitting up and his wires pull back into his body.

“Sid!” Zhenya throws himself out of his chair, and he tackle-hugs Sidney, relief rushing through him before he remembers what he has to tell Sid. He tries to pull back, but Sidney returns the hug, clinging to Zhenya and refusing to let go.

“I know,” Sidney says. “I heard everything you told me.”

“Everything?”

SIdney pulls back so Zhenya can see him smile. “Everything. Your pursuit of knowledge is admirable.”

“But I can’t help you. I  _ should  _ help.”

“You already have.” Sid holds Zhenya’s face between his hands, gentler than Zhenya deserves. “You’ve been kinder to me than any other race in this galaxy would’ve been. This is my burden to bear, and I will see my duty through.”

“What if you can’t do it alone? Johnson, he isn’t…”

“No,” Sid agrees. “He isn’t a Guardian. This isn’t his battle.”

“He says the Archive isn’t with your people.”

“He isn’t a Guardian,” Sid repeats. He pulls away. “I should say hi to him. And then I’d like to meet with Colonel Lemieux. I know you can’t give me men but any knowledge you can share of the Genii would be appreciated.”

“I’ll set something up. Uh, Johnson’s in the infirmary with Phil.”

“He’s sick?”

“Radiation. THe Genii are using your people to do the grunt work of developing nuclear technology. It has side effects.”

“Can Jack be cured?”

“I don’t know,” Zhenya answers. “On Earth we can’t, but you’re not the same as humans and the Ancients have technology we don’t have access to.”

“I have a time limit, then.” Sid looks at Zhenya. “But if the Genii want advanced military technology,” he looks down at himself…”it doesn’t get much more advanced than me in the Pegasus Galaxy.”

“Sid--”

“I told you, I have two things to contribute; coffee and killing people. I doubt the Genii will trade for coffee.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I've been internet-less for a couple days now but I made it to Panera this morning to answer comments and update. Hopefully the internet will return soon or the next update won't be until a week from today. :(
> 
> There's some hand-waving with the origin stories.

“You’re just going to waltz into Genii territory?” Tanger demands. “What if they don’t let you leave? G, tell him this is a terrible idea.”

“It is a terrible idea,” Zhenya says as Sid pokes around the infirmary. “But there aren’t any others.”

Zhenya’s already considered telling Sid not to do this, but how can he tell Sid to sit by while his family’s in danger? Especially when the Stargate Team won’t help him. 

“It’s a simple information gathering mission. They think I’m a doctor who’s coming to help their workers.” Sid taps Phil’s computer. “May I hook up with this?”

“Sure. Let me know if you learn anything useful,” Phil answers. “I have no idea the effect the radiation is having on Johnson. It doesn’t help that I have such a small sample size for Halifaxans. You and Johnson are very different.”

“I was designed with a different purpose. And I’ve had to upgrade in ways he hasn’t.”

“What if the Archive isn’t there?” Horny asks.

“It is.”

“But Johnson said--”

“Civilians don’t know the Archive on sight. Only the Guardians do.”

“The True Guardian,” Zhenya says.

Sid acknowledges the correction with a nod. “I am the True Guardian, and the retrieval of the Archive is my priority.” His voice is flat as if he’s reciting something burned into his memory. “If I can secure the Archive on this trip then I won’t need another. With the Archive, I can rebuild my people.”

“But your parents,” Tanger says.

“Taylor,” Zhenya says.

From the doorway, Johnson laughs, cold and cutting. “ _ Taylor _ . She thinks you’re coming to save them. Every night, she told the same damn story about the first Guardian and how he protected Halifax from the Wraith. You’re her hero, and all you care about is the damn Archive.”

Sidney’s wires are still attached to Phil’s computer so he can’t go anywhere, but he flinches as if Johnson’s words have hit their target.

“The protection of the Archive is why I exist. It’s what I was trained for.”

“So you’ll go in, take the Archive, and leave?” Johnson shakes his head. “There are hundreds of us there, and you don’t care. What is it you said. You’re going to  _ rebuild  _ us? Your parents are that easy to rebuild? Your sister?”

“You don’t understand.”

“No, I don’t. Remember when we were kids? Maybe they wiped that memory from you when they created the perfect Guardian. You were scrawny and always getting into trouble you couldn’t get yourself out of.”

“You protected me.” Sidney’s eyes shine bright as he stares down his friend. “We fought a whole alley full of kids together, because they wanted my enhancements. You could’ve left me there to be taken apart.”

“Should’ve,” Johnson says but the sting’s gone from his words.

“You taught me what it means to be a Guardian.”

Johnson looks like he was bowled over by a puddle jumper, but he recovers quickly. “Apparently I didn’t do a very good job.”

“I want to help Taylor.” Sidney pulls his wires out of the computer. “I want to help them all. But my priority is the Archive. Once it’s secure, if I can train a new Guardian then I can rescue the rest of our people. But I am the True Guardian of Halifax. It means…” Sidney’s eyes flutter shut. When he opens them, they’re full of sadness. “It means I can’t do what I want. It means I have to do what’s best for our continued survival.”

Zhenya holds his breath, waiting for another outburst or maybe a fight, but Johnson’s shoulder slump. “Sucks.”

Sidney laughs. “Yeah. I need clothes that can’t be traced back here. Do you want to help?”

“That’s a shitty fucking olive branch.”

Sidney shrugs.

“Fine.”

Zhenya’s unsettled as he watches the two of them leave, but he can’t quite put his finger on why.

“Don’t worry,” Phil tells him. “You’re still his favorite.”

“I’m not worried.”

Phil just laughs.

~*~*~*~*~

The whole team sees Sid off in the gate room when it’s time for him to leave. He’s in a mish-mash of clothing styles which he claims is to help sell the wandering healer cover story he’s using, but it makes him look lost. Zhenya likes him better in Earth clothes; cargo pants and a black v-neck.

Sid has a bag with some medical equipment and two fuel cells, and it doesn’t seem like enough. Zhenya’s seen the Genii’s operation. Sid isn’t even half as prepared as he should be.

“This isn’t a military op,” Sid says as if he can read Zhenya’s mind. “This is information gathering and, if everything goes right, then it’s a retrieval.”

Backstrom hands Sid a set of bantos sticks. “The Genii won’t believe anyone, even a healer, travels without some kind of weapon.”

“Thank you,” Sidney says. “Your kindness will be remembered.”

It sounds enough like a goodbye that Zhenya’s stomach plummets and the words dry up in his mouth when Sid turns to him. With no words to say how he feels, Zhenya pulls Sid in for a hug, squeezing hard as if somehow he can keep him here where he’s safe. 

“Thank you,” Sid says, quiet, words meant only for Zhenya. He touches his fingers to Zhenya’s cheek before he steps back.

Horny powers the gate up. “You know how to gate to the Genii planet once you’re clear of Atlantis?”

“They won’t find you through me,” Sidney promises.

WIth one last glance at Zhenya, he steps through the gate and is gone.

~*~*~*~*~

It’s business as usual even if nothing seems usual with Sid gone. Zhenya knows he wasn’t part of their team for long, but it’s still weird to explore a new planet without him two steps ahead of Zhenya.

“He’ll be back,” Tanger says as they bushwhack through a jungle, hunting for a ZPM.

“He survived the Wraith,” Sasha adds. “He won’t let the Genii bring him down.”

But he took on a clusters of Wraith, not an entire planet of them. And he was focused on himself. Will Sid keep his cool when he finds Taylor? What if the Genii figure out what he’s doing? What if they disassemble him?

They don’t find a ZPM and Tanger picks up a nasty virus that grounds the team for the foreseeable future.

~*~*~*~*~

Zhenya works on his agricultural projects and winds himself a little tighter with each day Sidney’s gone.

~*~*~*~*~

They’re training, Tanger on the sidelines watching and heckling when the call comes in.

“Gate activity,” Flower tells them. “It’s Sid’s code.”

Zhenya flips the safety on his gun before he drops it and runs, his team right on his heels. Sid’s back.

Sid’s  _ back _ .

He races into the gate room, expecting to see SIdney a little worse for wear but smiling, maybe even with Taylor in his arms.

Instead, Sid staggers through the gate,  _ sparking _ as his gaze searches the room.

“Jack,” he rasps. “I need Jack.”

Sid stumbles as Flower blasts an Atlantis-wide message telling Johnson to hurry his ass up to the gate room. Zhenya steps forward to catch him, but Sasha grabs his shoulder, holding him back.

“He’ll electrocute you,” Sasha says.

Sidney drops to his knees, the sound loud in the quiet of the room. He’s still sparking when Johnson shows up.

“Of all the fucking--” Johnson cuts himself off. “I need a storage device.”

Hagelin grabs a nearby box. Horny pulls a USB drive out of his pocket. Johnson takes the USB and turns it over before he shrugs. He kneels down next to Sid.

“Open up.”

Sid’s forehead opens, and Johnson sticks the USB in.

“You better do the rest,” Johnson says, “because I'm not a fucking technician.”

Sid beeps and whirs and Johnson laughs.

“You too, buddy.”

Zhenya watches, helpless, his fingers itching to do  _ something _ until Sid stops sparking. Johnson yanks the USB out and Horny winces. Sid slumps forward, breathing heavy.

“Um,” Tanger says. 

“Infirmary,” Phil says. “Horny, you’re coming with us.”

“I don’t need a doctor,” Sidney says.

“You’re not the judge of that.”

“He doesn’t,” Johnson agrees. He turns the USB over in his hands. “Please tell me you didn’t try to download the Archive.”

Sidney hangs his head.

Johnson smacks him upside the head. “You  _ idiot _ !”

“I couldn’t retrieve it,” Sid says. “So I tried to bring it with me another way.” He holds out his hand. “Did I get anything useful at least?” 

Johnson hands the USB to Sid. “Check it and see.”

“Infirmary,” Phil says.

No one pays him any attention, especially when Lemieux asks, “Would you like a computer to connect that to?”

Sidney nods and Flower pulls a chair out for him in front of one of the terminals. Everyone crowds close as Sidney inserts the USB into the computer. Zhenya’s not the only one holding his breath as the files load and then pull up on the computer. 

It pulls up in binary, and all the 0s and 1s mean nothing to Zhenya, but Sidney pushes away from the computer and stalks out of the room so whatever he pulled mustn’t be what he was hoping for.

Johnson shakes his head. “Can’t catch a fucking break. I’ll go after Sid. Maybe give him some space, yeah? I don’t think they programmed failure into him.”

Zhenya wants to chase after Sid, but he doesn't know what he’d do. Anything he has to say would be useless at best and patronizing at worst. He still takes a step towards the doors, because he should at least  _ try _ .

Sasha wraps an arm around Zhenya’s waist, and Zhenya isn’t sure whether he wants to knock Sasha away or lean into the touch.

“Let Johnson talk to him. You can see him later.”

Zhenya wants to see him  _ now _ , but he allows Sasha to herd him towards the computer where Horny’s fingers fly over the keys.

“Maybe  _ I  _ should do this,” Flower says. “I am the translator after all.”

“You’ve been brushing up on your binary? I don’t think so. All I need to do is apply a program and--” Numbers give way to letters, and Horny grins. “There.”

Zhenya presses closer.

_ The Great One _

_ In the beginning, we lived on Atlantis. We were created to assist and to serve. We did our jobs and received upgrades when our Creators believed we were deserving. I have a memory bank which is superior to any of our other people. It is why I have been tasked with recording our stories. _

_ There are many tales in my memory banks, but this is the most important of them all. _

_ This is the story of how we became Halifaxans. _

_ The story of our First Guardian. _

_ The story of The Great One. _

_ We were beings of service, created to assist our Creators and help them spread their influence throughout the Pegasus Galaxy. Our Creators were kind, at times  _ too  _ kind, offering advancements to beings which didn’t deserve them. _

_ They found a planet full of creatures trapped in their caves, afraid of the light and afraid to explore. _

_ They gave them bodies and gave them ships. They didn’t realize what terror they were releasing on the galaxy.  _

_ These beings are ruled by hunger, but they were contained, unable to venture far. Maybe they would have died out. Maybe they would have evolved on their own. _

_ We don’t know. _

_ All we know is that our Creators unleashed the Wraith. _

_ It would be dishonest to blame our Creators. They were too kind, too eager to help, and the same qualities which created the Wraith also created us. _

_ The Great One admired our service and a few chosen ones, myself among them, were given more advanced upgrades with each passing week. _

_ When news of the first Wraith attack was made known, The Great One took us away from Atlantis. His brothers and sisters called it a betrayal. _

_ They called him coward. _

_ But The Great One saw in us the potential for survival. He brought us to a planet, Halifax. He gifted it to us and named us Halifaxans. _

_ And then he began to work. _

_ Our Creators possessed the ability to adapt and evolve. Other beings as well. We are different, born with wires inside of us. We learned to  _ upgrade _.  _

_ Some of us were built to fight, others to farm or to build. As I said earlier, I was built to  _ know _. I carry all the knowledge of our people so when the Wraith come--and they will come--we will survive them. _

_ Our bodies are shells and as long as my databanks survive, there is hope for the Halifaxians. _

_ \----- _

_ The Wraith came. _

_ They heard of a planet preparing for them, and they sought to destroy it before we became too powerful. _

_ We’re too young. _

_ We weren’t ready. _

_ Our power systems failed. _

_ We didn’t know how to fight. _

_ The Great One saved us. _

_ “You have everything you need to survive in here.” He tapped my head. “Find a new planet, begin again. Upgrade, grow stronger until you can defeat the Wraith.” _

_ He turned away from me then and placed his hands on the console. Even after everything he gave us, there were still things we couldn’t learn. _

_ The entire room shone as he channeled light through him. The Wraith screeched as they were blinded. _

_ “Run!” The Great One shouted. _

_ We ran, as many of as could escape. _

_ The Great One gave his life for ours. _

_ We have found a new Halifax, and here we learn and we upgrade as he commanded. Our knowledge is collected and stored in the Archive which means the Archive must be protected. _

_ We created Guardians in The Great One’s image, but they’re not as good as he was. We will continue to upgrade until we can eradicate the threat of the Wraith. _

_ We will make The Great One proud. _

~*~*~*~*~

Zhenya finds Sidney at the edge of Atlantis, staring at the water which stretches in every direction.

“Taylor’s sick,” Sid says. He doesn’t look away from where the waves gently lap against Atlantis’s base. “The sickest of them all. No one knows why.” Sid smiles, crooked and a little sad. “She’s always been different.”

“Special,” Zhenya says. Sid told him that what seemed like ages ago. And if  _ Sid _ thinks she’s special then she must be something else.

“She doesn’t have much time.”

“You’re going back.”

“I have to.”

“For the Archive.”

“For  _ Taylor _ .” Sid tucks his hands into his pockets. “It’s my fault she’s sick. If I wasn’t a Guardian--”

“If you weren’t a Guardian then you wouldn’t be able to save her.”

“If I wasn’t a Guardian then she wouldn’t need saved.”

“True,” Zhenya agrees and Sidney’s gaze snaps to his. “She’d be dead. You gave your people time to escape. Like The Great One, yes?”

“I’m not--don’t compare me to him.” Sid hunches his shoulder, trying to make himself even smaller.

“Okay.” Zhenya sits down on the edge of Atlantis. “Did you talk to Taylor while you were there?”

Sid nods as he sits down next to Zhenya. “I had to tell her I couldn’t save her. The security was too tight. I had to look at her in her infirmary bed and tell her there was nothing I could do. I’m not the hero she’s spent the past few years dreaming of.”

“She’d smack you for saying that.”

“Probably.” Sid laughs, a weak chuckle. “When I told her I had to leave without any of them she told me to upgrade and come back. But I don’t have access to the Archive, and The Great One isn’t here to reprogram me. Maybe I could get my people out but where would they go?”

~*~*~*~*~

“Sid needs help,” Zhenya says at their emergency briefing.

Sasha sighs. Lemieux looks away.

“I know we can’t storm the Genii with him,” Zhenya continues. He’s idealistic, but he isn’t stupid. “But we have technology, and we have a base full of Earth’s brightest minds. We can give him upgrades, give him a fighting chance. And we can offer refuge to his people when he frees them.”

The pity vanishes from Sasha’s face, replaced with respect. “With our help he might just be able to do it. And if his rescue sets the Genii’s nuclear development back a few years…” Sasha trails off with a shrug.

Lemieux looks between Zhenya and Sasha, suspicious.

“He’s going back, “Zhenya says, “but with our help he might actually succeed. I know we aren’t Ancients, but we’re living in their city, the place Sid’s people were created. There has to be something here that can help him.”

“You read the story,” Sasha adds. “The Halifaxans were created to defeat the Wraith. We want as many of them on our side as possible when the Wraith come.”

It’s Lemieux’s turn to sigh. “You make a convincing argument. If Sid’s willing to risk us experimenting on him then I won’t stand in your way. But don’t make him any promises you can’t keep.”

“We won’t, sir,” Sasha says. 

A heavy silence falls over the room until Jagr says, “Am I allowed to ask for a crop report now?”

~*~*~*~*~

Sid still stays in Zhenya’s quarters even though Johnson is here, and it’s like having a roommate again, but Sid is less obnoxious than Sasha ever was.

“We’ll help you as much as we can,” Zhenya says as he joins Sid on the couch. “We’ll give you as many upgrades as we can figure out.”

“Thank you.”

“We should be doing more. You shouldn’t have to go alone. Can we upgrade Johnson?”

“He doesn't have the right infrastructure in place. We’re human enough that our memory banks are finite. It means Halifxans are created with one primary function and one secondary one. Jack isn’t military and at this point he probably can’t be. If we had the Archive then  _ maybe _ , but if we had the Archive then none of this would be necessary.”

“That’s not true. You would still rescue your people. You’re a good person. Like The Great One.”

Sid narrows his eyes. “I’m not him. I was programmed to protect the Archive. That’s my function.”

“You have free will.”

Sid sinks back against the couch. “I shouldn’t. The Wraith must have knocked something loose in all the time I spent running.”

“Maybe Taylor changed you.”

Sid laughs at a joke Zhenya doesn’t understand. 

“Are you sleeping tonight?” Zhenya asks. “Uh, recharging, I guess?”

Sid shakes his head. “Colonel Lemieux gave me permission to access Atlantis’s data vaults. It’s a night of research for me. Don’t worry, I’ll plug in. I won’t drain myself.”

It’s too late for Zhenya not to worry. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow, this turned into A Bug's Life on me. So apologies :)))
> 
> Also, welcome to Chapter 7 of Sid Makes Some Friends

They continue to go on missions, Sid rejoining the team to test out his new upgrades and because Atlantis doesn’t have all the supplies he needs.

They raid another Wraith encampment, diffuse a civil war, spark a religious upheaval, and rebuild an entire city with Sid’s help. They don’t find any sign of a ZPM anywhere. Zhenya knows other people on base are beginning to think they’ll never see their families again.

He’s not sure that’s a bad thing.

His heart aches for his mama’s hugs and his papa’s laughter, but if they find a way back to Earth then other people in this galaxy could find it too. His family is safest if there’s no way to reach Earth.

Wanting to see them again is selfish.

His mama would smack him if she knew his thoughts. Sasha would too. But the real reason he keeps his mouth shut is Sidney. His family is trapped and sick, and he’s been given the burden of rescuing them.

“I can do it,” Sid admits, one night as Zhenya climbs into bed. Sid hovers in the doorway, eyes glowing in the dark. “I can retrieve the Archive.”

He sounds  _ sad _ , and Zhenya wishes he could turn on a light, but maybe Sid is confessing things which are easier to admit in the dark.

“I would never make it back to the planet again, though. I’d have to leave everyone behind, and the Genii would know how to guard against me. I  _ should _ retrieve the Archive. I was created to protect it.”

“I can’t make the choice for you,” Zhenya says. “But if you give us more time then maybe we can help you save both.”

Sid slips out of Zhenya’s room.

~*~*~*~*~

He’s on the couch in the morning. 

Zhenya’s more relieved than he’ll ever admit.

~*~*~*~*~

The Avalantians contact Atlantis for help. According to Elder Roy, they’ve been terrorized by a band of raiders with a weapon far deadlier than anything they have the defenses to handle. It happens monthly, once the Avalantians have enough crops to be worth stealing again.

“It’s humanoid but with thick, metallic skin, and it doesn’t tire,” Elder Roy tells them. “His weapon is made from Wraith technology, but he doesn’t travel with Wraith.”

“Friend of yours?” Lemieux asked Sidney at the meeting.

“I guess we’ll find out,” Sidney said.

And now here they are, in the biggest settlement on Avalantia. 

Duchene, one of the younger Avalantians, flits around wringing his hands and staring at the basket of bread as if he can force it to multiply with the power of his will.

“I’m sorry we don’t have more,” Duchene finally says. “The raiders - they take everything. They tell us we should be grateful it’s only food and not our lives. But we’ll starve if this continues.”

“I can help,” Zhenya says. “I’ve brought plants with me, seeds too. Where’s your agricultural specialist?”

“That’s Gabe but the raiders will just take it.”

“That’s where the rest of us come in,” Sasha says. Duchene’s gaze darts to Sasha’s gun. “We’ll help you created defenses, and we’ll train you to protect what’s yours. Guarding things is Sid’s specialty.”

“Hi,” Sid says.

Duchene offers a hesitant smile. “Hi. I’m sorry Elder Sakic isn’t here, but he was injured in the last raid. He hasn’t left the healing house since.”

“That’s enough,” Elder Roy says. The look he directs at Duchene is half-fond and half-exasperated.

“Sorry,” Duchene says. He vanishes from the room.

“Apologies for the bare table,” Elder Roy says, sitting at the head of the table.

“We’ll send for supplies,” Zhenya says.

“We already can’t repay your assistance.”

Sidney plucks a piece of fruit from the second bowl and the crunch as he bites into it seems too loud in the small room. Zhenya wants to knock the fruit out of Sid’s hand and scold him because he doesn’t even need to eat and the people here are starving.

Elder Roy’s gaze is drawn to Sid and he  _ relaxes _ as Sid chews obnoxiously.

“We’ve been in need of training,” Sid tells him. “Simulations are good, but it’s better to fight an actual target. You’re providing us with something we need. Let us return the favor so we’re equal.”

“You’re not human,” Elder Roy says. “Not like us and not like them.”

“My planet was attacked by the Wraith, and my people were scattered. These Earthlings and I have come to an agreement. We can do the same with you.”

Elder Roy takes a roll from the basket. “Tell me your terms.”

Zhenya tries not to stare too obviously as Sid negotiates. He convinces Roy to let the team provide agricultural assistance in exchange for the Avalantians allowing the team to fight the raiders for them.

Zhenya’s not the only one impressed, because as soon as they’re in the bunkhouse for the night, Sasha says, “Where the fuck did you learn to negotiate?”

“The Avalantians are a proud people. They don’t want your pity or your charity. And no one in the Pegasus Galaxy wants to be in debt to someone else. You’re different than everyone else here. It makes Elder Roy uneasy.”

“Any way you can negotiate with them on medical care?” Phil asks. “If the raiders come every month then there must be dozens of people who are hurt.”

“I can try.”

“We’ll worry about it tomorrow,” Sasha says. “We need a good sleep. We don’t have much time before the next attack. Does everyone know the schedule?”

Zhenya and Tanger are helping in the fields; Sasha, Sid, and Horny are working on defense, and Phil is apparently going to try and talk his way into helping people. Zhenya’s a little sad he won’t be there to see it. Phil isn’t know for his subtlety.

~*~*~*~*~

In the morning, Zhenya eats a buttered roll after Sid kicks him under the table, but he promises himself this is it. He’ll sneak a ration bar once he’s outside.

He notices Sid take two rolls  _ and  _ fruit, and Zhenya’s about to kick him back when he takes a bite of the yellow fruit and scrunches his nose.

“Is it supposed to tingle?” Sid asks Duchene.

The young man shakes his head. “It’s sweet but filling.” He eyes the fruit with open envy.

“Tingling?” Phil repeats. “If you have a fucking allergic reaction--”

Sid cuts him off before Phil can get up to full bluster. “I shouldn’t risk eating anymore of it.” He holds it out to Duchene. “I would hate to see it go to waste.”

“I should get more bread then.” Duchene takes the fruit and cradles it to his chest. His smile fades when he sees the near-full basket of bread on the table. “This isn’t to your liking either. I’ll find something else.”

“No need,” Sid says and he offers Duchene a warm smile as he kicks Zhenya again, harder this time. “Earthlings, they’re different from us. Their bodies need time to wake up before they can properly eat.”

Understanding dawns on Duchene’s face. “A stimulant. We have those.”

He hurries out of the room, and the team turns towards Sid.

“Did you just arrange a  _ drug  _ deal?” Phil demands.

“If that bread basket isn’t empty by the time Duchene comes back then I will call Backstrom here to kick all of your asses.”

“We’re  _ guests _ ,” Zhenya hisses. “That means we shouldn’t impose.”

“The rules are different here.”

Sid stares each of them down until all the bread is gone from the basket.

Duchene beams when he sees, returning from the other room with a tray of mugs, steam curling from the tops. “I see your appetites are activated. You don’t need this, then.”

“You’ve gone through the trouble of making it for us,” Sasha says. “We--” He cuts himself off, mouth falling open as Duchene sets a mug down in front of him. “Is this--?”

“ _ Coffee _ ,” Tanger moans.

Duchene’s cheeks turn pink. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have given this to you. If Elder Roy finds out--”

“This is rare among your people?” Tanger looks like it pains him but he pulls his hands back so he isn’t cupping his mug anymore.

Duchene shakes his head. “It’s,” he glances over his shoulder and drops his voice, “ _ common _ . It allows us to work even when we’re tired or hungry.”

“You have a supply of this?” Sasha asks.

“Fields full.”

“I’d like to propose a trade,” Phil says. “I’m a medic--a healer. I offer my services to your people in exchange for this plant.”

“I--I have to find an Elder. .I’m not permitted to negotiate trades.”

Duchene leaves again, and Phil eagerly gulps down his coffee. Sid pushes his mug towards Phil. “You’re learning to negotiate.”

“You’re very smug when you’re right.”

Sid smiles and returns to his bread.

~*~*~*~*~

Zhenya’s tour guide for the day is Duchene who’s missing his smile as he hands each Zhenya and Tanger a big straw hat.

“Did we get you in trouble?” Zhenya asks.

“Everything worked out. Your people--you truly value coffee? It’s so bitter. And it makes my hands shake.”

“Sid can’t drink it for the same reason.”

This makes Duchene perk up.

“And it doesn’t have to be bitter,” Tanger says. “You can add cream or sugar.”

“Our coffee plants are the only thing to fully survive the raiders,” Duchene tells them. “I guess they don’t care for it.”

“We’ll protect you from them,” Tanger promises.

“And then you’ll take your coffee plants and leave.”

“Only some coffee plants,” Zhenya says. “We don’t have enough land or people to be true farmers. We rely on trade, and you’re the first people we’ve discovered with coffee.”

“We could become partners, then?”

The hope on Duchene’s face makes Zhenya want to say yes, but he says, “I’m not permitted to negotiate trades, but I’ll tell my Elders of the opportunity here.”

Duchene’s smile is back. “Put your hats on. The sun is strong.”

~*~*~*~*~

Zhenya is exhausted and ravenous after a hard day of work, and he doesn't need any prompting from Sid to eat a full meal.

“You’re a little pink,” Sid says. He points to Zhenya’s nose.

“Sun.” Zhenya grins, full of food and warmth and ready for a long sleep.

“That, at least, is a resource the raiders can’t take from us.” Elder Roy joins them at the table. “We’ve learned how to harness the power of our sun.”

“Solar,” Horny says, impressed. “That answers the question of how to power your defenses.”

“You you have a lot of extra energy?” Sid asks.

“We have enough,” Elder Roy answers, wary.

“I don’t feed the same way as your people or even the Earthlings,” Sid says. “If I enter a recharge period then I’ll be fully functional when the sun rises in the morning. If I can access your energy stores then I can be functional in two hours, allowing me to continue to work.”

Elder Roy nods to Duchene who slips from the room. “What would you do?”

“Explore. I’ve seen your walls. I want to go beyond them.”

“Beyond the walls is death.”

Gabriel said something similar when Zhenya asked what was beyond the tall walls at the edge of the farmland. The Avalantians aren’t strong enough to defend against the wildlife on the planet so they live within their walls. When they need new farmland or more space then they extend their walls.

“It’s a risk I’ll take,” Sidney says. “I want to know what’s out there.”

“I’ll go with him,” Duchene volunteers as he returns with a battery pack. “I know what’s just beyond the walls.”

Elder Roy’s eyes narrow. “You shouldn’t. But if Sidney doesn’t mind the company then you may go.” To Sid, Elder Roy adds, “His safety is not your responsibility. You are absolved of anything that happens to him.”

“I am a Guardian. I’ll protect him.”

“This is your choice.” Elder Roy holds his hand out for the battery pack. Once he takes it from Duchene, he extends it to Sidney. “Does this meet your requirements?”

Sidney runs his fingers over the small rectangle and then his gaze snaps up. “This is--” he stares at the battery. “You store so much energy in such a small device.”

“They’re rechargeable too,” Duchene adds.

Sid holds the battery as reverently as he held  _ Anna Karenina  _ all those weeks ago. “I will trade my services for these.” He holds it out to Horny. “Could we attach it to me so I can access its energy when I’m running low?”

“I don’t see why not. It’s a battery; they’re made to be plugged in.”

“What services do you have to offer?” Elder Roy asks.

“I will map the lap beyond your wall and help you expand your borders if there’s land you want enclosed.”

“That is worth a second battery.”

“Keep that one to study,” Sid tells Horny. “I’ll take the second with me tonight. We can leave whenever Duchene’s ready.”

“You can call me Duchy. And I thought you had to rest.”

“Not if I have one of those.”

Phil coughs loudly.

“Oh.” Sid looks sheepish. “Do  _ you _ need to rest?”

“I’m good,” Duchene promises.

Elder Roy clears his throat.

Duchene’s shoulders slump. “I’ll sleep for a shift but then I’ll be good. You won’t leave without me, will you?”

“Not even if you sleep two shifts,” Sid promises.

Duchene grins and bounds out of the room.

“Our youth are resilient,” Elder Roy says. “It’s something to be thankful for.”

“We’ll bring peace to your planet again,” Sasha says. “If you have these kind of energy stores at your disposal then we can development a defense system for you.”

“The raiders have guns, and they have their weapon.”

“Can you tell us more about their weapon?” Sidney asks.

“It looks humanoid but it has an impenetrable shell. Its guns are like what the Wraith use. What chance do we stand against a Wraith-killer?”

“What do you mean by impenetrable?” Sasha asks.

Zhenya watches as Sid pulls himself back from the conversation. Sasha and Tanger debate guns verses explosives, and Horny asks Elder Roy more about what he remembers. Once everyone’s occupied, Sid slips out of the room. Zhenya follows him.

Avalantia stays warm even after the sun goes down, and Zhenya’s sweating once he’s caught up to Sidney. 

“You’re fast,” Zhenya says.

“Not fast enough.”

Sid turns west towards the only wall they can see in the fading light. It stands tall, sturdier than the buildings in the village. It keeps the Avalantians safe from whatever’s beyond the walls, but it can’t protect them from spacecraft. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Zhenya asks. It’s a stupid question, because Sid wouldn’t have run off if he wanted to talk, but it’s obvious something is bothering him.

“They’re being attacked by an armored humanoid wielding Wraith technology.”

“It doesn’t mean it’s a Halifaxan.”

“It’s the logical assumption. One of my brothers or sisters survived, and I’ll have to fight them.”

“Maybe you can talk. You told me you only have two things to offer, fighting and coffee. Maybe it’s the same for this Halifaxan. If you give him options then he’ll make the right choice.”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe he won’t fight when he sees you.”

Sidney shoves his hands in his pockets. “I’ll do what it needs to be done. But I’m done talking about it.”

“Okay.” Zhenya stands next to him, close enough to feel the heat from Sid’s skin. “You seem excited about the batteries.”

“A mobile energy source changes everything. The fuel cells worked, but the energy was heavy, and they couldn't hold as much. Part of the reason I upgraded for so long was because I needed to flush my system. This sun energy feels cleaner. I’m optimistic.”

“We have solar technology. If it’s as good as you think then we can help you with that.”

“Thank you.”

“What do you think is beyond the wall?”

“Something for me to fight.”

“You’ll be careful?” It seems silly to worry about Sid when he’s; well,  _ Sid _ , but Zhenya can’t help it. “Duchene isn’t as indestructible as you.”

Sid smiles as if he can see right through Zhenya. “I’ll keep him safe.”

“I wish I could go with you.”

“You need your rest. And,” Sid reaches out to cradle one of Zhenya’s hands in both of his, “you’re better suited to things that aren’t fighting.”

Zhenya stares at their joined hands as his words dry up in his throat. He must stare too long, because Sidney flushes and tries to pull back.

It’s Zhenya’ turn to grab Sid’s hands. “No! I mean, if you don’t want--” Zhenya drops Sid’s hands. It’s his turn to flush. Why is he so bad at this?

“I do,” Sidney says. “I do want.” He holds his hands out to Zhenya, palms up. “I want everything.”

“Everything?” Zhenya repeats, and his voice cracks embarrassingly in the middle of the word.

Sidney smiles and leans in to press their lips together.

~*~*~*~*~

They kiss as their hands wander until Sidney pulls back, his cheeks pink and his eyes shining. 

“You should return to the bunkhouse so you can recharge for you optimal number of hours,” Sid says.

“This is better than sleep.”

Sidney whirs as his cheeks turn even pinker. “We’ll have time for more of this, but you need to rest, and I need to prepare for my trip.”

Zhenya wants to be selfish and keep Sidney with him for the next hour, day,  _ week _ . Instead, he says, “Be safe,” and then leans in for one last kiss.

Zhenya forces himself to walk away after that, but when he turns back at the bunkhouse doors, Sid’s watching him.

Zhenya’s heart feels too full and beats too fast as he ducks insted. He doesn’t even bother to fight the smile on his face, and Sasha takes one look at him and says, “Fucking finally.”

“Finally?” Tanger pops up from his bed. He sees Zhenya and grins. “Wow. Nice. Who had this week in the pool?”

“You’re all ridiculous,” Zhenya says.

“Now how are we going to get our entertainment?” Sasha asks. “Is it too soon for you to fight?”

Zhenya flips him off as he rummages through his bag for his toothbrush.

“Aren’t you supposed to do that  _ before  _ you kiss?”Phil asks.

“Go choke on a breath mint,” Zhenya grumbles.

His smile returns as he brushes he teeth and changes for bed. He kissed Sidney. Sidney kissed him back.

Horny throws his pillow at Zhenya’s head.

~*~*~*~*~

They’re at breakfast when Gabriel rushes in to say, “They’re back!” before he rushes out again.

Everyone abandons their plates to follow Gabriel. They go to the nearest gate where dozens of Avalantians are gathered, waiting. Tyson Barrie is up on the top of the wall and he calls down to them. “They’ve got something with them. Something  _ big _ .”

There’s a mixture of uneasy and excited murmuring.

“It’s dead,” Barrie adds.

“Looks like your friend kept his promise,” Elder Roy says. “He can defeat what’s beyond our walls.”

“He’s very good at what he does,” Zhenya says.

He goes up on his tiptoes even though the walls are several meters too high for him to see over. What does big mean to Avalantians? Is Sid okay? Is Duchene?

“He’s fast,” Barrie says. “And  _ strong _ .”

When the gates finally open it’s so Sid can drag a makeshift sled through. On the sled is a large feline with sharp claws and even sharper teeth. It’s bigger than any feline on Earth, and Zhenya feels a pang of regret at its death. 

“It’s a ciriga,” Elder Roy says. “They’re the reason our walls are so high. It can leap into trees and drag down anyone seeking safety there. We’ll have a feast today.”

All the Avalantians gather around the sled to look at the beast, and Duchene chatters excitedly about how they’d seen it and tracked it and outsmarted it. 

“Not even a scratch on me!” Duchene proclaims.

Sid slips away from the attention to stand by Zhenya.

“I brought him home unharmed.”

“Yourself too.”

“Their planet is big. They’ve barely used any of it. But there’s a lot out there that would kill them given the chance.”

“Tomorrow we start expanding the walls?”

“I hope so.”

“And we found a whole  _ field  _ of water,” Duchene says. He searches from Sidney in the crowd. “What did you call it?”

“A lake.”

“A lake,” Duchene repeats. “And it’s full of food. We should add it to our territory.”

“We already can’t protect what we have,” Gabriel says.

“Today is a day for celebration,” Elder Roy says. “Tomorrow, we will talk and we will plan.”

“I bet there’ll be dancing,” Zhenya whispers to Sidney. 

“I’m afraid I don’t know how,” Sidney says, a complete lie, because he can’t meet Zhenya’s eyes while he says it.

“It’s okay, I’ll gift you with the knowledge.” Zhenya reaches down to clasps Sid’s hand.

~*~*~*~*~

True to Elder Roy’s word, they have a day of feasting and celebration before it’s back to work. Sid’s mood, so high after testing out his new energy source and adventuring with Duchene, plummets after Elder Roy sides with Gabriel. The Avalantian’s focus should be protecting what they already have. Once they can do that, they can look towards expansion.

“When the raiders comes, we’ll test our defenses and then decide how best to move forward,” Elder Roy says.

It’s sound logic, but it isn’t what Sid wants to hear. Zhenya thinks it has as much to do with the lack of activity as it does the reminder that the raiders will be here soon and, when they are, Sid will find out which one of his people he’ll have to fight.

The only thing that seems to improve his mood is how successful the solar batteries were. He has three now, and he and Horny have been shut away trying to improve on them for the past four days while Zhenya and the others shore up the defenses.

According to Gabriel, it’s only a matter of days before the raiders return, and they need to make sure they’re ready.

Three days to be exact.

They’re eating breakfast when Zhenya hears the unmistakable rumble of a ship’s engines.

All the Avalantians at the table tense up, but Sid cocks his head to the side and says, “That’s an outdated Montrendor spacecraft. Time to see who they’ve brought with them.”

Sidney stands, everyone else rushing to do the same.

“They always land on the western plain,” Elder Roy says.

They part ways outside the meal house, Horny and Tanger to check the shield, Sasha to gather a small, somewhat trained group of Avalantians on top of the wall, and Sid to face the raiders. Sid’s shoulders are set, stiff, and there’s no hidden spark in his eyes, no hint of warmth on his face. This is the Sid Zhenya first met, serious and focused, because anything else would be a distraction.

Zhenya wants to pull him in for a hug, wants to pull him away from whatever he’s about to face, but instead Zhenya follows Sasha to the top of the wall. He stands next to Duchene as they watch the Montrendor ship land. It kicks up dust and dirt and rocks, but they don’t fling far enough to hit the walls.

“Why aren’t our shields up?” Duchene asks.

“We don’t need them yet, and we don’t want the raiders to know we’ve prepared for them,” Sasha answers. 

“They’ll figure it out pretty fast,” Duchene says, pointing to Sid as he walks out to meet the raiders.

His armor isn't up yet, and Zhenya holds his breath and prays the raiders don’t shoot first and ask questions later.

“He’s going to be okay, right?” Duchene asks.

“He has us as back-up,” Zhenya answers. “We won’t let anything happen to him.”

Sidney looks small compared to the clunky ship the raiders showed up in. Zhenya doesn't know who the Montrendors are, but they aren’t very technologically advanced. A small blessing.

“You’re new,” one of the raiders says as he disembarks. “Did the Avalantians finally find someone to take pity on them?”

“Pity had nothing to do with it,” Sidney answers, his voice carrying up to the where Zhenya’s stationed on the wall. “They have something I want, I have a set of skills they need. We made a trade.”

“We just take what we want.”

“That ends today.”

The raider laughs. “Bring out the weapon.”

Zhenya stares as two raiders disappear into the ship and come back out with an armored Halifaxan. His stomach sinks at the sight. He’d hoped, for Sid’s sake, that it wasn’t a Guardian terrorizing the Avalantians.

Sidney laughs. “Your weapon is as outdated as your ship.”

The armor goes still. “Sid?” it asks, voice high, afraid.

“Hello, Nate.”

“Oh, shit,” Tanger says. “Nate like--”

“Another runner,” Zhenya finishes. The Guardian Sid ran with until the Wraith split them up. How someone Sid talks so highly of ended up raiding defenseless people, Zhenya doesn’t know.

“Power up the shield and the guns,” Sasha orders. “Be ready to fire on my command.”

“You think he won’t do it,” Phil says.

“I think if someone told me to kill Zhenya then I’d hesitate. We’re here to make sure Sid’s hesitation doesn’t give the raiders the advantage they need.”

The leaders laughs. “You two know each other? I’m almost sad to cut this reunion short.”

“Not as sad as you’re about to be,” Sid says.

“Kill him,” the leader tells Nate. “Then we’ll take our tribute.  _ Double  _ this time.”

“I hope your friend is as good as he says,” Elder Roy says.

There’s a hum as Nate powers up and a painful whirring as he fights the order he’s been given. “Sid,” he gasps, his arm shaking as it raises, gun pointed at Sid. “I have to. I can’t--”

“I know,” Sid says, permission and forgiveness rolled into one. “It’ll be just like when we were in school, eh?”

Sid’s armor snaps into place, and Elder Roy gasps. “He’s--”

“It’s okay,” Duchene promises. “He showed me when we went beyond the wall. He’s like the weapon, but he’s on our side.”

A blast from Nate’s gun knocks Sid flat on his back.

“Still think he’s outdated?” the leader taunts.

Sidney stands, looking no worse for the wear. “He’ll need something with more kick to take out my shields. I don’t think he has it in him.”

“What’s he doing?” Tanger demands.

“I have no idea,” Zhenya answers.

Nate’s next blast knocks Sid back a few feet.

“Why isn’t he fighting back?” Duchene asks as Sid’s knocked around again.

“He’s running through his power is what he’s doing,” Horny says.

“But he has the batteries as back-ups,” Zhenya says.

“In theory. We never actually tested it.”

“What?”

Sid dodges Nate’s next blast. “Do your keepers know you’re going easy on me?”

“Destroy him,” the raider commander orders. “I want him  _ dead _ .”

Nate’s next two blasts are his largest yet, but his third is smaller, and Sid climbs back to his feet, shields flickering but holding.

“I said kill him!”

“Not getting tired, are you?” Sid asks in a voice Zhenya’s never heard before. It’s  _ mean _ . “Surely you can dig deeper. Give it everything you’ve got.”

Nate comes to a full stop. “Give it-- _ oh _ .”

There’s a hum as Nate powers up, and it grows louder and louder and until he sends his largest blast right at Sidney. The force of it sends Sid flying back against the town’s shields. There’s a crackle as Sidney’s own shields flash and then go out.

The leader kicks Nate’s shoulder, now unprotected by his armor, and sighs when Nate doesn’t react.

“Looks like you’ve used up your one advantage,” Sasha calls. “You have to the count of ten to board your ship and leave.”

“Or what?”

Sid climbs to his feet. “I told you your model was outdated.”

Zhenya has a moment where he remembers to breathe again before Sid’s in action, moving too fast for Zhenya to track. When he’s still again, he’s kneeling at Nate’s side, the ground littered with bodies.

“I need Phil and Horny,” Sid says. He’s turned so anyone who tries to shoot Nate from the wall has to go through him. “ _ Please _ .”

“Go,” Sasha says without taking his finger off the trigger of his gun.

Phil and Horny join Sid on the field, but they talk too quietly for Zhenya to hear all the way up on the wall.

“What are they doing?” Elder Roy asks.

“When we found Sidney he’d been implanted with Wraith technology,” Sasha answers. “It allowed the Wraith to track him wherever he went. Nate had the same tracker. The raiders must have adapted it so they could control him.”

“Will he be okay?” Duchene asks.

“There’s still a lot we don’t know about Halifaxans,” Zhenya tells him. “But we have our best team working on it.”

“Are you keeping the Montrendor ship as a war prize?” Elder Roy asks and the conversation shifts to a discussion of ‘what now’.

Zhenya doesn’t take his eyes off Sid and the emergency field surgery that’s going on down there. Duchene stands next to him, like a shadow, hovering but not making a sound.

Zhenya doesn’t know how much time passes before Phil and Horny join them on top of the wall.

“Shields up,” Horny says. “Time to see if that worked.”

The shields come on again, a translucent barrier. Sid leans over and does  _ something _ and Nate jerks to life. Zhenya’s fingers curl around the wall, gripping tighter with each moment that papsses. But Nate doesn't try to shoot Sid again and eventually they lean in to hug each other.

“Looks like we’re up to three Halifaxans now,” Tanger says.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Jack came off a little iffy but hopefully this chapter will help clear some of that up.
> 
> Also, second to last chapter!! Things are winding down!

Sid and Nate are inseparable once they return to Atlantis. Where one is, the other is right there. Sid even moves out of Zhenya’s quarters, and he knows it’s because they’re making plans to storm the Genii planet, but it still stings.

They haven't had a moment alone since the night they kissed, and Zhenya wants to know if it was a one-time thing. He wants to  _ talk _ but compared to the problems Sid’s facing, it seems selfish to ask for even five minutes of his time.

Zhenya isn’t the only one feeling left out, because Johnson drops by the greenhouse one day while Zhenya’s sorting through all the coffee plants they traded with the Avalantians for. 

“Looks like Sid has the partner he needs,” Johnson says. “It won’t be long before they leave.”

“You could go with them.”

“I’m not a Guardian. I would only hold them back.”

Zhenya pats the stool next to him. “Do you want to learn about plants?”

“Sure.”

Zhenya talks about coffee as he labels each plant with where it’s supposed to go and then Johnson follows him to where the fortified potatoes are growing nicely.

He’s telling Johnson about genetic modification when Johnson says, “I was supposed to be a Guardian, you know.”

Zhenya looks up from his potatoes, surprised.

“They test everyone who’s born to see if they're compatible with the Guardian upgrades. I was and I was given the data stick with my upgrades, but my appointment wasn’t until the next day. When I woke up, the data stick was gone. My parents - they weren’t good with money. They pawned the upgrades. When I told the instructors at the Academy what happened, they said if I couldn’t protect my upgrades then how could anyone expect me to protect the Archive? I was reassigned.”

That’s - “Unfair,” Zhenya manages to say.

Johnson shrugs. “Sid doesn’t know.”

“Is this why you fought for him in the alley?”

“Sort of. I mean, I didn’t want what happened to me to happen to him too. And a part of me hoped if the Guardian instructors saw how I defended him then they’d give me another chance. Obviously, they didn't. Sid met McKinnon at the Academy, and they’ve become brothers.”

There’s jealousy in Johnson’s voice that Zhenya relates to. He understands why Sid’s spending all his time with Nate, but he wishes  _ he  _ was that important to Sid.

“Tell me more about these potatoes?” Johnson asks.

~*~*~*~*~

The next day it’s Nate who crashes Zhenya’s productivity time.

“You want to learn about potatoes too?” Zhenya asks.

Nate shrugs wide shoulders as he pulls up a stool. “As long as it won’t offend you if I transfer the knowledge to the Archive as soon as it’s in our possession again. I don’t have a lot of space for things that aren’t crucial to my primary function.”

“Eating is most crucial.” Zhenya pokes his tongue out so Nate knows he’s teasing. “So, you aren’t here for potatoes.”

“You’re important to Sid.”

“Maybe he’ll put me in the Archive.”

More teasing, but Zhenya ducks his head so Nate won’t see how much he wants it to be true.

“He will but it won’t be a transfer.”

“He has more space than you?”

“Sid’s special,” Nate says and Zhenya nods, because he’s known this since he met Sid. “He’s The Next One.”

“The Next One?”

“You’ve heard of The Great One. We were made in his image, but we aren’t like him. We’re still too close to machines to be capable of adaptation. Of  _ evolution _ . Except for Sid. He’s changed since we became Runners. He’s better than he was.”

“He doesn’t like being compared to The Great One.”

Nate chuckles. “He hates it. He doesn't want to be different, but he can’t help it. There’s a reason he’s the True Guardian.”

“I thought that was a secret.”

“Not to anyone with eyes. Sid’s my commander, and he saved my life when we were Runners, and he saved me again on Avalantia. I’ll do whatever I can to repay him for that.”

“He would say you don’t owe him anything.”

“Too much time with you.” Nate’s smile doesn’t last long. “You Earthlings are different. Maybe the kind of different this galaxy needs. Is everyone on Earth as kind as you?”

“Not all but we tried to put our best face forward. And we could be doing more. We could go with you.”

“You can’t risk a war over a people who aren’t your own. That’s not kindness, that’s stupidity.”

“Hey!”

Nate’s smile is back and it erases the hard line around his face. It makes him look  _ young _ , and Zhenya’s chest aches for the carefree years he couldn’t have. Maybe once Sid’s people are free, and they have contact with Earth again, Zhenya can take them home. He can show them hockey and Disney and vodka. 

He’ll introduce Jack to his mama so she can give Jack all the hugs he deserves. And Jeffrey can slobber all over Nate. 

“Being in Atlantis is something else,” Nate says. He looks around the lab. “This is where we were created. I wish we had the time to explore.”

“You’re leaving soon, then?”

“The less you know the better.”

It’s true but the truth doesn’t stop Zhenya from being curious.

~*~*~*~*~

Nate and Sid are gone the next morning.

As soon as Zhenya figures out they’re not on Atlantis anymore, he tracks down Jack. The rest of the team is already there, and Jack’s backed into a corner, eyes searching for an escape or some kind of weapon.

“Give him some space,” Zhenya says.

“He knows the planet Sid and Nate gated from,” Sasha says.

“I’ll guard their secrets,” Jack says. “Which is more than you’re doing for them.”

Zhenya steps between Jack and his team before this comes to blows. “We can’t fight with Sid and Nate, but we can be there to welcome your people. You too. You know how frightened they’ll be and what they need. I know it isn’t much, but let us help how we can.”

“We won’t be able to gate back to Atlantis with the refugees if the gate’s open to the Genii planet,” Sasha says. “We’ll need the puddle jumpers to hide us until it’s safe to use the gate. I’ll talk to Colonel Lemieux. The rest of you gather supplies. As many solar charging stations as we can fit in the jumpers.”

Zhenya also takes as much Jello as he and Jack can carry.

The gate isn’t in use which means they can gate to Pheonotia, a desert planet with nothing but sand and cactuses to be seen for kilometers. They set up their solar stations, cloak the jumpers and then wait.

“I brought a deck of cards,” Tanger says.

They play because it’s something to do with their hands, and they try trash talking each other, but no one can concentrate. Any minute the gate will power up, and the Halifaxans will come through. Any minute and Zhenya will see Sid, unharmed and victorious.

Jack is the most agitated of them all, twitching every time he hears a sound.

When the gate finally powers up, Sasha, Horny, and Tanger reach for their weapons and fall into a defensive position. Phil picks up his med kit. Zhenya holds Jack back from rushing the gate.

“Wait to see who comes through,” Zhenya says.

Honestly, Zhenya expects to see Sidney, cradling the Archive and triumphantly leading his people to freedom.

Instead, its kids who stumble through, and they stop when they see the sand. They’re knocked into by adults and then Nate pushes his way through.

“Come on,” he calls to them. “Clear the gate so more can come through.”

Zhenya and Jack step out of their ship.

“Here!” Zhenya calls. “We have shelter and charging stations.”

Following their cue, the other teams step out of their jumpers. The Halifaxans huddle close as if they’re afraid.

“Come on, Werenski,” Jack coaxes. “You can bring Matthews with you.”

The kids, recognizing Jack, come bounding over, but the adults are more cautious.

Nate steps through the gate again.

“The Guardians came to save us!” one of the kids exclaims. “Just like Taylor said they would!”

“Are you Werenski or Matthews?” Zhenya asks, kneeling so he doesn’t loom quite as tall.

The kid scoffs. “I’m Mitch. That’s Davo and that’s Stromer.  _ That’s  _ Auston.” He points to a kid happily sitting outside the jumper, soaking up the sun.

“Let’s get you inside where no one can see you, “Zhenya says. “Have you ever tried Jello?”

“Jello?” Mitch asks. “What’s that?”

Auston links arms with another kid, one who has a gash on his cheek, and Phil is immediately at their sides. “You look hurt. May I help you?”

The kid nods but Auston sticks close, arms crossed over his chest, ready to intervene if he doesn't like what Phil is doing.

“I’m a medic,” Phil explains as he dabs the blood away. “What happened to you?”

“The wall fell,” Auston answers.

“But Sidney’s holding it up now,” Mitch says.

“Shut up, he wasn’t talking to you,” Stromer hisses. “You’re so  _ nosy _ .”

“You’re just jealous,” Mitch says and the third one - Davo - steps between them to mediate.

“Sid’s okay, then?” Zhenya asks.

Another wave of Halifaxans come through the gate, and Zhenya has to leave the kids in Phil’s care to direct this next group. They have ten puddle jumpers here, each outfitted with an away team. Zhenya herds a group towards Kunitz’s jumper, but when he tries to herd the next wave, they refuse to budge.

A middle-aged woman grabs Zhenya’s arm. “My daughter. You have to help her.”

“Yes,” Zhenya says, already looking around. “Where is she? Does she need a healer? Let me bring you to Dr. Kessel.”

The woman shakes her head, but she and a man Zhenya assumes is her husband, follow him back to the jumper Zhenya’s team is stationed in.

“ _ Trina _ ?” Jack asks.

“Jack?” Trina hugs him, squeezing briefly before she steps back. “Taylor’s still in the infirmary and Sid - I can’t lose both my children.”

“Of course we’ll help,” Jack says. “Are you hurt?”

Trina shakes her head. “Save Taylor.  _ Please _ .”

“We’ll go for her, Mrs. Crosby,” Mitch says. “We’ve been practicing how to be Guardians from the stories Taylor’s told us.”

Zhenya unclips his gun and checks how much ammunition he has.

“You can’t go,” Jack says, quiet enough he won’t be overheard. “You have your orders.” 

“I can’t leave Taylor there.”

“You wouldn’t even know how to find her. I do.”

Zhenya’s mouth falls open.

“Just because I’m not a Guardian doesn’t mean I can’t help. You’re the one who told me that. Besides, I wouldn’t have escaped without Taylor’s help. I owe her a debt.”

“We’ll be waiting here for you,” Zhenya promises.

Jack nods and takes a deep breath before he jogs out of the jumper.

“Where’s he going?” Sasha asks.

“To save Taylor.”

~*~*~*~*~

Zhenya stands on the ramp of the jumper and stares at the gate, willing Nate and Jack and Sid to walk through it.

Nate is the first to stumble through, a toddler under each arm, and Zhenya steps into view so he can wave them over.

“Where’s Sid?” Zhenya demands as Tanger takes one kid and Horny takes the other.

“Making sure Taylor gets out. It’s only the three of them left now.”

“The Genii?” Sasha asks.

“Can’t touch us. Sid put up a shield and so far nothing they’ve thrown at it has broken it.”

There’s something Nate isn’t telling them. There’s a slump to his shoulders, and he won’t meet their eyes; instead, he stares at the gate, hoping for something he knows he won’t see.

“What did Sid do?” Zhenya grabs Nate’s shoulders and shakes him. “What did he  _ do _ ?”

“He’s The Next One,” Nate says, voice flat. “He did what he had to do.”

“No.” Zhenya runs towards the gate. He knows how the story of The Great One ended. Sid’s story won’t end the same way. It  _ can’t _ .

Jack stumbles out of the gate when Zhenya’s still a few meters away. He’s holding a young woman in his arms, her arms looped weakly around Jack’s neck.

“Get her to Phil,” Zhenya says.

Jack nods. He glances at Zhenya and then at the gate. “You can’t help him. He saw me with Taylor, and he used everything he had left. The shield is down.”

Zhenya notices the bullet wound in Jack’s thigh for the first time. “You see Phil too.”

If Jack wasn’t holding Taylor then he’d probably try to stop Zhenya. Instead, it’s Sasha who clasps Zhenya’s shoulder.

“I’m going,” Zhenya says.

“I know. We can’t let valuable technology fall into the Genii’s hands.”

Zhenya’s fingers curl into fists.

Sasha rolls his eyes. “It’s what we’ll tell Lemieux when he yells.” Sasha holds up his automatic. “I’ll give you cover while you grab Sidney.”

Zhenya nods.

Sasha steps through the gate shooting. Zhenya ducks in behind him, Sasha’s rifle loud this close. The Genii weren’t expecting an attack or, at the very least, they’re startled enough for Zhenya to reach Sidney. He’s still warm but he’s slumped on the floor, battery packs burned out. There’s no light in his eyes.

Zhenya pushes away his fear and his anger, and he loops his arms under Sidney’s armpits and drags him towards the gate. Bullets fly above his head.

Sasha grunts and says, “Hurry your slow ass up!”

Zhenya’s calves burn as he moves as fast as he can while in a crouch and dragging another being. He and Sidney tumble backwards through the gate. 

Sasha’s a second behind them and once they’re both through, Horny dials a new address.

“Time for a detour,” Horny sayas. “And you need to see Phil.”

“I’ve had worse,” Sasha says.

Zhenya tears his gaze away from Sid long enough to see the bullet hole in Sasha’s shoulder. “You’re hurt.”

“Into the jumper,” Horny says.

Tanger helps Zhenya lift Sid into the jumper as Horny helps Sasha.

“Fucker’s  _ heavy _ ,” Tanger says.

“Sidney!”

Zhenya’s knocked out of the way as Trina kneels beside her son. She cradles his head in her hands, and Zhenya forces himself to look away from their private moment.

“Thank you for retrieving him,” Sidney’s father says. “We should be able to access his information banks and salvage what he’s learned these past few years. I’m sure it’ll be an invaluable addition to the Archive.”

“The Archive,” Zhenya repeats. “Only Sid knows what it looks like.”

“He would’ve made sure it got out. We’ll find it, and we’ll chronicle his sacrifice.”

Zhenya shakes his head. “This happened to Nate too. Sid gave him a zap, and he was fine. We’ll give him a shock when we get home and--”

“This is different,” Nate says, voice so gentle is almost breaks Zhenya. “I ran through my power. He blew through his. There’s nothing left to spark.”

“No,” Zhenya says. “ _ No _ . He searched for you for  _ years _ . You can’t just give up on him.”

“There’s nothing we can do in the puddle jumper,” Horny says. “We’ll see what we can do when we’re on Atlantis.”

Mitch, the loud one from before, sits next to Zhenya. He doesn’t say a word.

~*~*~*~*~

They fill the infirmary with Halifaxans.

Zhenya takes up a vigil next to Taylor’s bed. There’s nothing to be done for Sidney until they have the time and the manpower to try and help him. But Sidney sacrificed himself for Taylor so Zhenya sits by her bed, sometimes joined by her parents, sometimes by Jack or Nate.

Special, Sid called her.

Zhenya’s not sure this is the way he meant. She’s the sickest of all the Halifaxans, radiation clinging to her. She hasn’t woken since they brought her here.

“I don’t know  _ why _ ,” Phil says, running on coffee and determination at this point. “It’s like there’s something in her brain the radiation is clinging too.”

_ Special _ .

“Like something metal?” Zhenya asks.

“But there’s nothing different about her brain. I’ve scanned every damn Halifaxan on Atlantis. She’s just like all the others.”

_ Special _ .

“I need Nate,” Zhenya says. He grabs the walkie off Phil’s hip. “Nate McKinnon to the infirmary. Immediately.”

Phil snatches his walkie back. “Go cause trouble somewhere else.”

Zhenya stays out of the way until Nate runs up, breathing hard as if she ran here.

“Can the Archive be a person?” Zhenya asks.

Nate skids to a stop, and he stares at Zhenya before his gaze snaps to Taylor. 

“Oh,” he says. “I mean, not a person anymore, but  _ in _ a person, yeah.”

“Nothing’s showing up on our scans.”

“It wouldn’t. We’ve hidden it. But I can check for it.” Nate’s fingers brush the back of Taylor’s hand. “I think Sid tried to tell me, but I didn’t understand.”

“Can we remove it? I think it’s what’s making her so sick.”

“I’ve been trained to remove it.”

“Are you plotting to do things to my patient without consulting me?” Phil demands.

“I want to extract the Archive,” Nate says. “It will help her.”

“The Archive?” Phil raises his eyes to the ceiling. “Are all the Crosbys this damn complicated?” He snaps on a new pair of gloves. “Tell me the plan.”

~*~*~*~*~

Between Nate and Phil, they remove the Archive, and they’re all still staring at it when Taylor sits up and opens her eyes for the first time in Atlantis.

“Where’s Sidney?” she asks. “Where’s my brother?”

~*~*~*~*~

WIth the Archive safe and the Halifaxans healing, there’s only one thing for Zhenya to focus on.

Sidney’s in the back room of the infirmary, motionless on his bed. When Zhenya touches his wrist now, Sid’s cold to the touch.

He passes long hours at Sid’s bedside, telling him about Taylor’s progress, updating him on the Avalantians, and reading crop reports to him.

Zhenya’s far from Sid’s only visitor. Often times his parents or his sister will be there. Today, it’s one of the kids Zhenya met during the rescue. The serious one.

“Hi,” Zhenya says so he doesn’t start the boy. “I’m Geno.”

“Connor. You’re here a lot.”

“Sid’s my friend.”

“He won’t get better with time. Not like everyone else.”

“Nate’s looking in the Archive for something to help him.”

“We’re on Atlantis,” Connor says. “This is where we were created.”

“The Great One’s rooms,” Zhenya says.

Connor shrugs. “Wouldn’t he have something to fix us?”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it's over! Thank you to everyone who read. This was my first experience posting as I wrote and while that wasn't my favorite, it was nice to get back into writing fic :)))

It takes two computer programs and three days of searching but they finally find the rooms that were once Wayne Gretzky’s.

Sasha, to Zhenya’s surprise, doesn’t barge through the doors. Instead, he turns to Nate and asks, “Would you like the honors?”

Nate shakes his head even as he takes a step forward. “This is where The Great One lived. This is where we were made.”

“Do you want some time alone in there?” Tanger asks. “We can wait out here.”

“Thank you,” Nate says.

He enters Gretzky’s quarters, leaving Zhenya and his team outside.

“Your boy is high maintenance,” Sasha says.

“He’s not mine.”

The teasing smile slips from Sasha face. “He’ll be okay.”

Zhenya nods but doesn’t say anything else.

~*~*~*~*~

Nate emerges from Gretzky’s rooms, his shoulders set, determined. “We need to go to Halifax. The first one. Everything here is for outdated models.”

Everyone’s quiet for a beat too long.

“A field trip, then,” Tanger says.

~*~*~*~*~

Exploratory Team One, Nate, and Sid depart for Old Halifax with Lemieux's permission and Jagr’s blessing. Taylor and Sid’s parents and the crew of young Halifaxans wanted to come too, but there isn’t enough space in the jumper. More importantly, they don’t know what they’ll find when they get there.

Will Old Halifax be overrun by scavengers? Will the Wraith be using it as base?

To be safe, they gate to an abandoned planet first and then they dial Old Halifax, the address found after scouring Gretzky’s records.

They fly through the gate, cloak and shields up as a precaution, and it’s a good thing, because a blast knocks them to the side.

“What the hell?” Tanger demands. “Someone’s shooting at us!”

Someone with good luck, because they’re hit again, and Zhenya’s thrown the other way.

“Should’ve worn our seat belts,” Phil mutters.

“Do I fire back?” Tanger asks.

“Evasive maneuvers,” Sasha orders. “See if we can shake the enemy fire. I want to see who’s targeting us before we shoot.”

They bank hard right, and an energy blast narrowly misses them. The next shot misses completely. Nothing comes afterwards.

“Given up?” Tanger asks.

“They probably want to conserve energy,” Sasha says. “We land and then split up. Zhenya and Horny will take Sid to Gretzky’s rooms. Phil and Tanger will stay with the jumper, and Nate and I will go hunting.” Sasha glances at Tanger. “If things go south then you leave.”

“Ovie--”

“That’s an order.”

“Yes, sir.”

Zhenya takes his gear bag and slips the straps over his shoulders. Horny, with help from Nate, straps Sid to his back.

Nate presses his Wraith gun into Horny’s hands. “Protect him.”

“I will.”

Sasha and Nate leave the jumper first, and once they comm to say the landing area is clear, Zhenya and Horny leave.

Old Halifax looks like Atlantis with all its high reaching spires, but it’s bigger and has clearly seen a fight or two. Several of the spires are cracked or cut clean in two. There’s rubble and singed walls everywhere, and Zhenya’s careful where he steps.

“Do you think Gretzky’s rooms are intact?” Horny asks.

“They have to be.”

Horny doesn’t say anything else. They get beyond the edges and into the city, and ZHenya touches his hand to the first panel he finds. It lights up for him, and he breathes a sigh of relief as he searches for the quarters he wants.

“I can’t believe it still has power,” Horny says. “Do you think there’s a ZPM here?”

“Probably solar or something,” Zhenya answers. “Even a ZPM would be run down by now.”

“Maybe.”

“His quarters are right next to his labs. Eastern quadrant.”

They set out, the city coming to life for them as they pass through its hallways.

“Not exactly subtle,” Horny says. He checks to make sure his gun is in easy reach.

Zhenya pulls his scanner off his belt. “It’s us and one life form within the city. Sasha and Nate are closing in on it. We should be fine.”

They walk through a hallway littered with ceiling plates and wires that have long since stopped sparking.

“This is eerie,” Horny says.

“We’re almost there.”

They have to pry open the doors to Gretzky’s quarters, and Zhenya stops as soon as he can see inside. It’s identical to his quarters on Atlantis. If Zhenya didn’t remember passing through the gate then he could easily think he was still on Atlantis.

“Guess he missed home,” Horny says. He walks past Zhenya. “Help me with Sid then keep your eyes on your scanner. We don’t want any surprises.”

Zhenya unstraps Sid from Horny’s back and checks his scanner. Nate and Sasha are following the unknown. Zhenya helps Horny move Sid to what looks like a charging station.

They hook him up, these parts fitting unlike the ones on Atlantis.

“Now we wait,” Horny says.

“Is it working?”

“What part of wait don’t you understand? Look at your scanner and tell me if anything changes. I’m going to try and access the computers.”

Zhenya sneaks a look at Sidney when he can. The unknown dot is staying well ahead of the Sasha and Nate dots and so far isn’t headed towards the jumper or Gretzky’s quarters.

“There’s definitely a ZPM here,” Horny says. “We’ll take it with us before we leave.”

A ZPM.

The could go  _ home _ .

“Huh,” Horny says a couple minutes later. “I think Gretzky was operating on himself.”

“What?”

Zhenya abandons his post next to Sid to see what Horny’s looking at.

“The Halifaxans say they were modeled after him, but I think he modeled himself after  _ them _ . It’s how he was able to hold off the Wraith. And why the charging station on Atlantis didn’t work. Sidney’s a newer model. Whatever upgrades Sidney’s model has are the same ones Gretzky gave himself.”

“Does that mean we could reboot him too? He’ll be here somewhere, right?”

“The Wraith wouldn’t have left enough of him to piece back together. We’re fortunate so much of the city was left intact.”

“You think this will fix Sid?”

“It can’t break him more.”

Zhenya glares before he looks at his scanner. “The hostile’s coming our way.”

“take your gun out.” Horny taps his comm. “Ovie, did you get eyes on the hostile? It’s headed towards us.”

“Nothing,” Sasha answers, frustrated. “We’ll come around and trap it. Is Sid with you yet?”

“Not yet.”

“Defend him within reason, but your safety is priority.”

Zhenya rolls his eyes. They came here to help Sid. They’re not leaving until he’s better.

Zhenya takes his gun out of the holster and clicks the safety off. He checks his scanner again. The hostile isn’t moving anymore. It’s still, two hallways down from them.

“Prepping?” Zhenya asks, turning the scanner towards Horny.

The lights in the room flicker.

“Oh shit.” Horny slaps his comm on. “Hostile attempting to remove the ZPM.”

“Hold your position,” Sasha orders. “We’ll engage it.”

“Only one of us need to stay with Sidney,” Horny says.

“We’ll call for back-up if we need it.”

What goes unspoken is that if it’s not something Sasha and Nate can handle then having an extra teammate or even two won’t matter.

“What do you think is crawling around an abandoned city?” Zhenya asks. “More scavengers? It’s certainly not a Wraith.”

Horny shrugs.

Zhenya looks at his scanner. The hostile still isn’t moving. Sasha and Nate are only a few meters out. They round a corner and then they’re facing the hostile. Neither the hostile dot nor the Sasha and Nate dots move. Standstill? Are they talking?

Zhenya’s fingers itch to activate his comm, but he knows better than to give away their advantage. It means a tense few minutes as he watches the dots, still pulsing with life but still not moving.

Finally, Sasha’s voice crackles through. “She’s a friend of Nate’s. We’re coming to you.”

“Leaving the ZPM unguarded?” Horny asks.

“I assume we still need it.”

Zhenya glances at Sid. “Yeah.”

“Phil, meet us in Gretzky's room,” Sasha says. “I have a patient for you. Tanger, keep an eye on the long range sensors. We’re expecting company.”

“The life sucking kind?” Tanger asks.

“Yep.”

Zhenya wills Sid to wake up. If Wraith are coming then they can’t linger. And if Wraith are coming then there’s no guarantee they’ll leave the planet intact a second time.

Nate leads a woman into the room with Sasha bringing up the rear. She smiles at Sasha like his precautions amuse her. Maybe they do. They gun she carries is Wraith in origin and bigger than anything Nate or Sid carry.

“Nate says you’re the new Creators.” She doesn’t look impressed.

“We’re just borrowing their city,” Zhenya says.

“Borrowing.” She laughs. “And what, that wasn’t enough so you came to take this one too”

“It had something we needed.” Zhenya keeps himself planted between the woman and Sidney, still unsure whether he wants to trust her or not.

“You picked a bad day to scavenge. The Wraith are coming.”

“Because you brought them. Why?”

The woman shrugs. “I’ve been Running a long time. I found a power source and figured now was a good time for a final stand. Kill the scout ships and they’ll send hive ships to investigate. Kill those too. Kill everything until they kill me. There’s no easy retirement when you’re a Guardian.”

“If the first wave is only darts then we should be able to escape with the ZPM,” Sasha says.

“It’s  _ my _ power source.”

“We’ll trade you.”

She laughs. “What could you possibly give me that’s worth the power source?”

Phil chooses that moment to show up, med kit in hand.

“We can remove your tracker,” Zhenya says. “You don’t have to run anymore.”

The woman looks to Nate.

“They can,” he tells her. “They did it for me.”

“And we can find a place for you to retire,” Zhenya adds. “The Archive is safe, you don’t need to protect it. And without the tracker, you don’t need to run. You can rest. You can do anything you want.”

“How long will I be out of commission?” the woman asks Nate.

“Not long. You’ll be fully functional afterward, but you’ll bleed if you push too hard.”

Phil makes a protesting sound that’s ignored by both Halifaxans.

“Let’s do this before the Wraith crash our party,” Horny says.

The woman lies down on her stomach only after Nate gives her a small nod. She keeps her gun in her hand, and Zhenya’s afraid she’ll accidentally shoot one of them when Phil first slices into her.

She grunts as Phil begins to work and then glares at Nate.

He shrugs. “I was unconscious when they did it to me.”

Between Phil and Horny they remove the tracker, and the woman holds it in her hands, such hate in her eyes that Zhenya’s surprised it doesn’t combust.

“Huh,” Horny says, looking at the device. “Why don’t we throw it through the gate?”

“What?” Nate asks.

“The Wraith are tracking it, right? So we send it to an actually abandoned planet and they won’t come for us here.”

“I could kiss you,” Sasha says. “Tanger, find us an address.” He looks at the woman. “If you want to lay a trap then you’ll have to do it on a different planet.”

“Without a power source and with my back sewn up?” She scoffs. “Toss it into space for all I care. I’m retiring.”

Sasha hands the tracker to Phil. “Bring this to the gate. Tanger, we want an address that opens into space.”

“Will do,” Tanger says.

“That should buy us a little more time,” Sasha says once Phil leaves.

“Time for what?” the woman asks.

“ _ Wicks _ ?”

Zhenya spins around to see Sid sit up. He’s still connected to the chair, and he frowns at all the wires.

“Don’t you dare yank those out,” Zhenya says. “And while you’re at it - quit being such a self-sacrificing  _ fuckhead _ .”

Sid tilts his head to the side. “That word isn’t in my vocabulary.”

His smile is a tenuous thing like he hopes Zhenya’s joking but is afraid Zhenya’s actually angry.

Zhenya surges forward to kiss him.

“Seriously?” Sasha demands.

Zhenya flips him off, but he also pulls back from Sid before he wants to. “You scared me.”

Sid looks around. “Where am I?”

“Old Halifax,” Wicks answers. “And you have a long story to tell me.”

“You too,” Sidney says. He frowns at the wires. “May I please take these off?”

“Maybe?” Horny says. “We hooked you up to everything we could find, crossed our fingers, and hoped it would work. I’d offer you a battery pack, but you blew your parts out.”

“I did what I had to do. My family - they’re safe?”

“They are,” Zhenya answers. “All the Halifaxans made it to Atlantis and Taylor’s recovering now that the Archive’s been removed.”

“You figured it out then,” Sid says, pleased.

“Taylor had the Archive?” Wicks asks. “Now there’s a surprise.”

“Let’s continue this reunion somewhere the Wraith don’t know about,” Sasha suggests.

Sid loses some of his smile when he looks at Wick again. “You -”

She turns to show off the neat stitches Phil left behind.

“Good,” Sid says. “We should bring everything in this room. We might need it again.”

“The power source too,” Wicks says.

“Power source?”

“A ZPM,” Zhenya answers.

Sidney’s smile flickers again. “You can go home now.”

“Pack,” Sasha says. “We don’t want to be here if the Wraith show up.”

Everyone jumps into motion, and Zhenya’s separated from Sidney. And then, once they’re all in the puddle jumper, Sidney sits with Nate and Wicks.

They don’t say anything for a long time, the three of them close enough to touch, their heads tipped back against their seats. Occasionally, one of them will open their eyes and look as if to confirm they’re all still there.

Zhenya does the same with the ZPM.

They have enough power now to gate to Earth. He can see his mama again. He and Sasha can play shinny or maybe even pond hockey. He has no idea what season it is back home. He stopped counting days when he realized that was a slippery slope to a bad place.

“We did it,” Nate finally says.

“We survived,” Wick agrees. “There were times I thought for sure our luck had run out.”

“Once we’re settled,” Nate pauses and stares at his hands. “Once we have a new planet, I’m going to Avalantia. I need to repair some of the damage I did there.”

Sid’s eyes snap open, alarmed.

“Work?” WIck asks. She shakes her head. “Retirement is supposed to be relaxing.”

“Retirement?” Sid echoes, his voice climbing higher.

“I was scheduled for reassignment before the attack,” Wick tells him. “I’ve put in my time and then some.”

“We’re all that’s left of the Guardians. If you two leave me -”

“We have the Archive,” Wicks interrupts. “We have friends. We even have peace. It’s time for a new wave of Guardians.”

~*~*~*~*~

That night, Zhenya finds Sidney at the edge of Atlantis, his bare feet dangling near the water.

“You want to be alone?” Zhenya asks.

“I will be soon whether I want it or not.”

“Always so dramatic,” Zhenya says as he sits down next to Sidney.

“I thought thing would be normal again. Everyone back together, training, building a new Halifax. But we lost so many of us and everyone who survived - we’re different. We can’t reset our programming and live like we had before the attack. We have to  _ change _ .”

He spits out the word as if he doesn't like the way it tastes in his mouth.

“Change is good. It means you grow.”

“Nate and Wicks are leaving me. I could order them not to, I’m the highest ranking Guardian left, but I know they deserve whatever rest they choose. I just - they’re leaving, and you’re returning to Earth. I’ll be the lonely Guardian. I’ll be  _ alone _ .”

“Come with me,” Zhenya ways. “We’re only going for a visit. You can meet my mama and papa and my brother. You can  meet Jeffrey. He’s the best dog, will shower you with kisses until you aren’t sad.”

“I’m not sad.”

“Jeffrey will still slobber.”

Sid’s smile is faint as he looks over at Zhenya. “With Wicks and Nate gone, I’ll be the only Guardian. I can’t leave my people.”

“Maybe it’s time for the  _ Next  _ Next One,” Zhenya says. “You said yourself, you want normal back. You wanted training and friends. Train new Guardians and you won’t be alone.”

“They’re so  _ young _ .”

“And you weren’t when you started?”

Sidney shrugs.

“There was a boy who sat by your bed every day. He wants to be like you. He says his name is Connor, but his friends call him Davo.”

Sidney smiles. “Connor McDavid. He isn’t a bad choice for a Guardian. And, if things haven’t changed, then wherever McDavid goes, Marner and Strome will follow.”

“Already have school of three. Jack will help teach. Sasha too if you ask.” Zhenya bumps their shoulders together. “You don’t have to do everything on your own anymore. You don’t have to be alone unless you want to be.”

Sidney’s quiet long enough for Zhenya to be afraid he overstepped. But then Sid links their fingers together.

“Tell me about Russia,” Sidney says. “What will you show me first?”


End file.
